San Diego voters have a favorite when it comes to who will develop on the former NFL stadium property in the heart of San Diego's Mission Valley, the midterm Election preliminary results indicate.
The stadium, once home to the Chargers, sits on real estate owned by the city of San Diego and valued between $73 million and $110 million.
The San Diego River Park and SoccerCity Initiative, or Measure E, and SDSU West, or Measure G, were two competing proposals for the aging San Diego Credit Union Stadium at the junction of Interstates 8 and 15.
Both measures propose tearing down the stadium site to make room for housing, retail, and parkland.
Preliminary results the day after the election indicate voters prefer SDSU West over SoccerCity.
With 73 percent of votes tallied so far, the SDSU West initiative, which would sell 132 acres of the land to San Diego State University or any SDSU affiliate, has approval from 55 percent of voters.
The proposal's backers, Friends of SDSU, claimed victory on Election Day, touting the opportunity they will have to expand SDSU's campus and calling on the city to work with them to reach a deal.
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"Tonight may be the end of our campaign, but the work is far from over. Now, it's time for SDSU and the City of San Diego to work together to make this vision a reality," the statement read.
San Diego State University President Adela de la Torre said the SDSU West team has already begun moving forward with the process.
"Our goal is really to have a shovel in the ground by 2020 and in order for us to do that we want to work expeditiously with the city," said Gina Jacobs with SDSU.
The team said they would move forward with the "new" before demolishing the "old".
If SDSU West is officially declared the winner, they hope to have the new stadium completed by 2022.
Meanwhile, 70 percent of voters responded "no" to the SoccerCity initiative.
Both plans need 50 percent approval to pass. If both plans get more than 50 percent of the vote, the plan with the most votes wins but it does not appear likely that SoccerCity will reach that threshold.
If the SDSU West initiative passes, it would open up the city to negotiate with the proposal's backers to purchase the Mission Valley site.
The SDSU West plan has proposed to demolish the stadium and add extension buildings for SDSU, additional housing, and a stadium for either a football or a soccer team.
SoccerCity proposed to lease 233 acres of land from the city. They would tear down the stadium to make room for a sports entertainment district, which would include housing, retail shops, a river park, and a new stadium for a Major League Soccer team.
