San Diego City Council on Monday, Nov. 9, approved a massive overhaul of the Midway District that will replace the city’s aging Sports Arena with a state-of-the-art arena and add thousands of homes on city-owned land.
Led by billionaire developer and professional sports team owner Stan Kroenke, the Midway Rising project will be the largest affordable housing project to be built on public land in state history.
The project, estimated to cost $4.2 billion, includes a new 16,000-seat sports arena, 4,224 housing units (including 2,000 designated as affordable) and 130,000 square feet of retail.
The development also includes a 15-acre park, and $460 million in infrastructure improvements — much of which could get reimbursed through a future tax-increment infrastructure financing district if approved by the city.
In exchange, the city agrees to forego collecting major lease payments for the 49-acre parcel. As proposed, Midway Rising will continue to pay the city a portion of ticket sales at the current arena until the new venue is completed. Upon completion, the Midway Rising team will keep the ticket revenue to reimburse the cost of the arena.
San Diego’s Independent Budget Analyst estimates the city will collect between $38.1 and $68.5 million in combined arena and development revenue over the life of the 105-year deal, not factoring in inflation.
During the six-plus-hour public hearing, proponents and opponents spoke on the project. While proponents applauded the thousands of new housing units, new sports arena, and traffic and mobility improvements, opponents said the city was rushing into the plan without properly studying potential flooding and contamination from a century-old landfill under the site.
While divisions were widespread among the public, city council members supported the project with some minor revisions, including some additional infrastructure improvements.
In addition to moving forward with the proposal, the city council also voted unanimously to take the first step in creating an Enhanced Infrastructure Financing District.
Following the vote, Mayor Todd Gloria issued a statement in favor of the project.
“From the beginning, my administration has worked to bring together the public and private partners needed to move this project forward,” stated Gloria. “We’ve negotiated a framework that puts housing first, delivers significant public benefits and creates a path to transform an underused property into a thriving neighborhood. I’m proud of the work that brought us here, and we’re committed to seeing this vision become a reality.”
