Now the real battle can begin.
On Thursday, Friends of San Diego State announced the City Clerk has verified the 106,000-plus signatures submitted for the SDSU West Initiative so it will be eligible to be on a public ballot in 2018.
SDSU West is the proposed redevelopment of the Mission Valley site where SDCCU Stadium currently sits. Their idea is to build a new 35,000-seat stadium for the Aztecs football program along with a river park, campus expansion, and research center.
It will likely be placed before San Diego City voters in November, the same time as the SoccerCity proposal set forth by FS Investors. Their plan includes a 22,000-seat stadium to draw a Major League Soccer expansion team (expandable to 32,000 for Aztecs football) along with a river park, retail entities, and room for SDSU to grow.
Both parties need a simple majority to be approved. If both receive greater than 50% of the public vote then the one with the highest total will win. On Thursday the jockeying for position began in earnest.
“Our City deserves a plan for the site that balances the needs of the City, residents and University,” said Friends of SDSU steering committee member and Mission Valley resident J.C. Mejia. “SDSU West does just that, ushering our City and University into a new era for Mission Valley.”
To counter that Nick Stone, Project Manager for SoccerCity, released a statement:
"We are looking forward to a healthy debate in the months leading up to November. After all is said and done, we believe voters will choose SoccerCity, which offers something for every San Diegan, including plenty of room for SDSU to grow, a sports and entertainment district, and a massive river park, which will be built and maintained without a dime of taxpayer money, unlike the developer-written SDSU West proposal."
Both proposals will conduct political campaigns over the summer leading up to the November election.
