Skip to main content

City Council

The People's Business: May 28, 2020: The SDSU Deal

You might have heard something about a pending sale of land in Mission Valley to a certain local state university. Of course you have -- it's just about the biggest news in San Diego outside of the COVID-19 pandemic.

And if you know about it, there's a good chance you know that the City Council will be discussing the land deal tomorrow, Friday, May 29, starting at 10 a.m.

City Council -- Friday, May 29

This is a special meeting devoted to the sale of 132 acres of land in Mission Valley to San Diego State University, so there's just that one item on the agenda.

Mission Valley stadium siteIn November 2018, San Diego voters passed Measure G, directing the City of San Diego and SDSU to negotiate the land sale so that the university can create SDSU Mission Valley. The project would include a 35,000-capacity stadium and innovation district to support SDSU’s education, research, entrepreneurial, technology, and athletics programs, as well as 86 acres of parks and open space including a 32-acre River Park; approximately 4,600 residences, 400 hotel rooms, 95,000 square feet of community-serving retail space; and enhanced use of the MTS Green Line Stadium Trolley Station and accommodation of the planned Purple Line.

Stretching back into 2019, the two parties have been negotiating a purchase and sale agreement, which has been presented to the City Council in various forms on several occasions. Each time, the Council has provided the City Attorney with policy guidance.

Tomorrow's meeting will be the first since the City Attorney identified 14 issues to be addressed by negotiators, and just last Friday, the City Attorney issued a memo related to future sewer and water projects and groundwater management rights. The meeting is expected to be the last time the Council will provide direction for the final purchase and sale agreement. That document is scheduled to come back to the Council for action on June 9.

For more details, click the agenda linked to above, then click on the item. Magically, links to a staff report and the most recent draft purchase and sale agreement will appear over on the right side of the page.

Sorry, due to COVID-19, only City staff and credentialed members of the press may attend the meeting in person. However, anyone can participate and make comments by dialing 619-541-6310 and entering the access code 877861 followed by # when the item comes up (full call-in instructions). Watch the meeting on cable TV channel 24 or AT&T channel 99, or stream it online.

Our next post will preview the regularly scheduled Council meeting on June 2, which will be jam-packed with policy matters to be discussed and moved forward. Buh-bye!


Join our mailing list and get "The People's Business" delivered to your inbox. Find an index of past posts.

Follow @SDCouncilComms on Twitter.

Learn all about the 2020 U.S. Census and the importance of getting everyone counted.