The San Diego City Council unanimously decided to take SDSU up on their $86.2 million dollar offer to purchase and renovate the former Qualcomm Stadium. After a few months of haggling over the university’s claims of a “fair market price” and SDSU’s initial offer of $68.2 million, the vote was made to begin drafting a formal transaction, expected to be approved by January.
Time is of the essence. Councilwoman Barbara Bry noted that the city still spends around $11 million operating the Mission Valley stadium, over $30,000 a day in taxpayer money every day the transaction with SDSU is delayed.
The full plan involves the exchange of a 135-acre parcel of land which would be redeveloped by SDSU into a new stadium, primarily for football, and the construction of a river park along the San Diego River among other conditions. It was approved by voters last November, with progress being made over the past year to get negotiations to this point.
Not only would this plan grow the university’s economic impact by around $3 billion, but it would also allow SDSU to accommodate 15,000 more students, and create thousands of jobs. We’ll have to keep a watchful eye on what the future has in store for SDSU and the City of San Diego.
