San Diego State yesterday "unveiled a redevelopment plan" to buy the Qualcomm Stadium site and "turn it into an academic village with housing, research facilities, parks, a hotel and commercial space plus a new Aztec stadium of 35,000 to 40,000 seats," according to a front-page piece by Roger Showley of the SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE. Much like the SoccerCity proposal by FS Investors, the SDSU plan would "result in a 'mixed-use development of medium density that is transit oriented.'" SDSU interim Chief Communications Officer Gina Jacobs said that no private developer is in "partnership with the university." SoccerCity project manager Nick Stone noted that the FS Investors plan "requires no taxpayer spending and can be financed and carried out immediately if voters approve it." Showley notes one of the "key issues under discussion between the city and university is extending" SDSU's football contract at Qualcomm for two years through the '20 season. The SDSU plan "did not say how the school would finance the development or estimate how much it would cost" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 7/26).
GET YOUR BEER HERE! In San Diego, Mark Zeigler noted the California State University system "recently rescinded its 11-year-old ban on alcohol sales at on-campus sporting events." SDSU officials said that they are "examining the prospects of resuming them at Viejas Arena for basketball as well as outdoor events like baseball and softball." The new policy "could be implemented as soon as this fall." Several CSU campuses that play D-I sports, including Fresno State, have "already indicated their intention to sell beer and wine." A half dozen other Mountain West schools "already do or will" in '17-18. The economic benefits for SDSU "won’t be as great as elsewhere because it already is one of about 40 Div. I schools nationwide that sells beer and wine at football games." The SDSU athletic department also "shares concession revenues with the Associated Students, which own and manage Viejas Arena" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 7/25).
