Backers of a plan to let San Diego State University redevelop the Mission Valley Stadium site say their signature-gathering effort remains on track.
The group Friends of SDSU wants at least 100,000 signatures by the end of December. It is a key part of the university's boosters effort to land 71,000 valid signatures for the SDSU West ballot measure.
If the initiative is presented to the San Diego City Council with enough valid signatures, council members only have two options. They can vote to approve the project outright or put the measure on the November ballot.
Boosters do not want the council to approve the measure outright.
"That's not our goal. We want to be on the ballot competing against the SoccerCity initiative," said Kim Kilkenny, a member of Friends of SDSU.
The SoccerCity Initiative hopes their redevelopment of the Mission Valley stadium property will lure a Major League Soccer team to San Diego.
Both developers want to build housing, a sports stadium, a river park and office space. SoccerCity's plan seeks more retail entertainment space while the SDSU plan aims to have an area with more of a campus ambiance.
"What this does is allow the university the opportunity to expand. And allows the region to continue to grow its economy because we have more educated students out in the working environment," Kilkenny said.
If the SDSU West proposal ends up on the same ballot, the measure with the most votes over 50 percent would prevail.
The SoccerCity measure has already qualified for the November ballot.
