The Port of San Diego and the San Diego Symphony officially broke ground Thursday on a permanent waterfront pavilion to replace the now temporary summer stage.
The permanent venue at Embarcadero Marina Park South will feature an acoustically superior outdoor stage and terraced seating for up to 10,000 people. Construction is expected to be completed in time for the 2020 summer season.
Symphony CEO Martha Gilmer described the $45 million facility as “a park for the entire region and the future,” with the ability to host a wide range of musical and other events.
Gilmer thanked the port staff for helping push though a project that ultimately won unanimous approval from the powerful California Coastal Commission.
“The symphony has been a wonderful, wonderful partner on the bay,” responded Port Chair Garry Bonelli. “This became a park within a park — a year-round attraction on San Diego Bay.”
Public improvements for the park area will include a widened public promenade around the venue that will remain open to the public during events, and refurbishment of existing benches, basketball courts, exercise equipment, lighting and restrooms.
Gilmer also thanked the symphony’s donors, including the project’s lead contributors, Joan and Irwin Jacobs, Ernest and Evelyn Rady, and Jack McGrory and Una Davis.
Mayor Kevin Faulconer said the new venue would be “a lasting legacy for our great city and the entire region” and praised the symphony for its tenacity in pushing the project forward.
The design for the park was developed by San Diego-based Tucker Sadler Architects and construction will be managed by general contractor Rudolph and Sletten.
