SAN DIEGO — The Unified Port of San Diego has authorized the transfer of 6 acres of land that will be used for the expansion of the San Diego Convention Center. The San Diego Convention Center Corp. (SDCCC) will pay $1 million of the $13.5 million purchase price at closing for the land, which is being transfered from Fifth Avenue Landing LLC. The SDCCC will then pay $500,000 per year toward the principal for 5 years and pay off the remainder of the loan at the end of the 5-year term.
The expansion stands to add approximately 1.26 million square feet of space to the already 2.6 million-square-foot convention center. Tentative expansion plans include 200,000 square feet of exhibit space, 100,000 square feet of meeting rooms, 80,000 square feet of multi-purpose ballrooms and 40,000 square feet of bayfront retail. The project is estimated to cost $752.7 million.
According to the SDCCC, the convention center expansion is something the city has needed for a long time. the organization estimates that San Diego has lost or has had to turn away 381 events in recent years due to lack of space at the convention center. The city is also at risk of losing the popular San Diego Comic-Con. The event annually draws 125,000 attendees, but it has outgrown the current San Diego Convention Center and has been looking for larger facilities in cities that include Anaheim and Los Angeles to host future conventions. Comic-Con's current contract with the San Diego Convention Center ends in 2012.
According to Steven Johnson, vice president of public affairs for the SDCCC, the expansion project is currently in the design and entitlement phase, and financing options are being pursued. Ideally, the expansion would be open by 2015.
— Coleman Wood