San Diego State University officials are poised to announce details of plans for campus expansion onto the San Diego County Credit Union Stadium property at a pair of events set for Wednesday and Thursday.
SDSU President Sally Roush, site plan consultants from JMI Realty, and representatives of the design firm Carrier Johnson + Culture are scheduled to hold a news conference to reveal the overall plans for the site, which became available when the Chargers left for Los Angeles.
A group of influential SDSU alumni and supporters are collecting signatures for an initiative that would grant the school rights to the Mission Valley property.
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A statement sent by Friends of SDSU to City News Service says San Diegans "have shown overwhelming support for SDSU West since we kicked off signature gathering in October. We're right on track to achieve the goal of around 71,000 valid signatures and submit them before the end of December. This milestone will take us one step closer to making SDSU West a reality for our city and San Diego State University."
If enough valid signatures are gathered, the initiative would likely go before voters on the November 2018 general election ballot. It would probably complete with another plan, called SoccerCity, which has already qualified for the ballot.
SDSU officials said they need to stay out of the political process for legal reasons but have been under pressure to release details of what San Diegans could expect to go onto the site. In part because it's only three trolley stops away from the built-out main campus, school officials have long eyed the land for expansion.
The plan is expected to include classroom and research space, student housing and a multi-use stadium. Negotiations with backers of the SoccerCity plan to develop the land and share a stadium broke down earlier this year.
On Thursday, Aztecs athletics officials are scheduled to announce details of the stadium portion of the plan. Roush, athletic director John David Wicker, football coach Rocky Long, and Scott Radecic, the founder and senior principal of the Populous stadium design firm, are scheduled to participate.
While the SoccerCity proposal calls for a soccer friendly stadium of under 30,000 seats, SDSU officials have been pushing for something closer to 35,000 for college football, with the capability of adding more later. The facility is expected to also be usable by a professional soccer franchise.
