The group behind San Diego's Major League Soccer expansion bid released a full plan for the stadium site on Monday.
Local luminaries were on hand at the event, including former MLS star Landon Donovan, who now lives in San Diego, as the group -- which submitted an official application to be among the next four MLS expansion cities last month -- revealed new renderings of the stadium site.
Proposing to tear down Qualcomm Stadium in the Mission Valley area of San Diego and transform the site into a multi-use space, the plans include a 30,000-capacity stadium, to be used both for an MLS team and San Diego State University's football team, 55 acres of public park space, an entertainment district and student housing. Located next to a trolley line, the group believes the proposed area would prove attractive to young adults.
Notably, the plan also includes the ability to build a separate NFL stadium on the site, should a team come to San Diego to replace the departed Chargers in the future.
The MLS stadium project alone is estimated to cost about $200 million, with the bid group proposing to split the costs with San Diego State, and eventually gifting the stadium to the university. Altogether, the Mission Valley site proposal is estimated to cost $2.5 billion -- all privately financed.
The next step in the process is for a petition campaign to begin next month, with the group seeking 120,000 signatures from San Diego voters by the end of April to indicate public support for the site redevelopment proposal.
