San Diego officials are making progress in drafting a potential SDCCU Stadium land sale agreement with San Diego State University, potentially allowing for city council review in January.
SDSU is seeking to purchase 135 acres of the SDCCU Stadium site in Mission Valley from the city, with hopes of constructing a project that includes a new home for its football program, along with a surrounding outpost for the university and a 34-acre river park. After an initial offer pitched in October drew skepticism from some city officials, SDSU presented revised terms, including a purchase price of roughly $87.7 million for the land, almost $20 million higher than its previous offer. Those terms, along with some other revisions made from the original proposal, contributed to the San Diego City Council’s decision in November to advance the offer to the purchase-and-sale-agreement stage.
At the time that decision was made, the council was hoping that a sale agreement could be ready to review in January, and it appears that timeline is feasible. In an update on Monday, city officials indicated they were working to have a preliminary version of the agreement ready for council review by the second week of January, contingent on receiving certain information from SDSU. Once it is ready, the agreement would be reviewed and debated by the council. More from the San Diego Union-Tribune:
Monday, City Attorney Mara Elliott and senior city staffers told council members they could turn around a preliminary version of the complex real estate document, likely hundreds of pages in length, in time for their consideration during the second week of January. The reiterated timeline was outlined at an information-only update to the council and is contingent on the university providing additional details, including its schedule for completing traffic improvements.
“We’ve done everything possible to expedite the drafting of this document,” Elliott said, noting that her office has three attorneys working “around the clock” on the contract.
The update comes a month after City Council voted unanimously to move the deal to the purchase-and-sale-agreement stage, signaling its approbation for SDSU’s offer to pay around $87.7 million for the land. The university is hoping to secure local sign-off before taking the deal, alongside its environmental analysis of its Mission Valley Campus Master Plan, to its board at the end of January. Its stated goal is to buy the land and construct a new football stadium in time for the 2022 football season.
SDSU’s new stadium would be designed to host professional soccer in addition to college football. Should the plans move forward, it would provide a replacement for the aging SDCCU Stadium, where the university’s football program currently plays its home games. Originally known as San Diego Stadium, SDCCU Stadium was completed in 1967 and was formerly used by the NFL’s Chargers and MLB’s Padres.
Rendering via SDSU athletics.
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