San Diego State slick magazine touts Mission Valley plan

Taxpayer-funded San Diego State University, locked in battle with privately-run SoccerCity over who will get to develop the choice city-owned parcel once known as Qualcomm Stadium, has rolled out a glossy mail piece touting its plans for the property called 360: The Magazine of San Diego State University. Says the publication, “There’s a gratifying sense of coming full circle in San Diego State University’s plans to build a multi-use sports stadium in Mission Valley.” Adds the magazine: “It would be a homecoming of sorts, then, if San Diego voters approve the November ballot initiative to sell SDSU the stadium site and adjoining acreage in Mission Valley. Construction of a new stadium will be part of the initial phase of development on the site. University officials estimate the cost at $250 million for a 35,000-seat stadium at the northwest corner of the site to be financed with donor support, naming rights and sponsorships, long-term bonds, revenue from athletic events and rent from food, beverage and merchandise concessions.”

First, though, the project must be judged by city voters in the form of dueling ballot measures, one mounted by SDSU boosters led by ex-city manager Jack McGrory and the other sponsored by SoccerCity, a group of La Jolla hedge fund mavens who propose to acquire the property privately. SDSU, led by acting president Sally Roush, hasn’t been shy about spending its own money to achieve its druthers in the matter, as indicated by favorable coverage on the university’s website, including maps and graphics aimed at selling the project to voters. “The campus is landlocked within its 288 acres” the presentation asserts. “The Mission Valley site is the only nearby piece of land capable of addressing San Diego State University’s long-term expansion goals.”