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SDSU resumes talks with City of San Diego over future of Qualcomm Stadium

San Diego State University officials have reopened discussions with the mayor's office and members of the City Council over the future of the Qualcomm Stadium site in Mission Valley, a school spoke
SDSU resumes talks with City of San Diego over future of Qualcomm Stadium

SAN DIEGO (CNS) - San Diego State University officials have reopened discussions with the mayor's office and members of the City Council over the future of the Qualcomm Stadium site in Mission Valley, a school spokeswoman said Tuesday.

The talks have been in person and over the phone with mayoral staff, but Mayor Kevin Faulconer has not been directly involved, Gina Jacobs of SDSU told City News Service. School officials also sent a letter to the mayor's office and council members.

The mayor's office confirmed that conversations took place last week.

"We stand ready and willing to lead in this effort in partnership with the city of San Diego in order to best address SDSU's needs and the city's objectives," Jacobs told council members. "We recently have been in preliminary conversations with the mayor's office, and we look forward to working with him as we do all of you."

Her comments came as the City Council voted to refer the issue of future use of the stadium property to its Smart Growth and Land Use Committee, for discussion within the next four months. A plan to declare the site to be surplus property fizzled following advice from the City Attorney's Office.

The stadium property became available when the Chargers left for Los Angeles. City leaders hope to shutter the aging, money-losing facility after the 2018 college football season.

Talks between SDSU and the city come with a backdrop of the stalled SoccerCity proposal for the land. Developers led by FS Investors of La Jolla want to tear down the stadium and replace it with a hybrid facility for professional soccer and college football, along with parkland, housing, offices and shops.

FS Investors qualified an initiative in support of the project but a vote isn't likely until November of next year, after the City Council recently rejected a proposed special election for this fall.

Meanwhile, SDSU officials have eyed the land for years for campus expansion, and now need somewhere for the Aztecs football team to play in the future. The school and developers failed to reach agreement on how to share the property.

The five-page letter from SDSU Vice President for Business and Financial Affairs Tom McCarron, delivered earlier today, comments on various legal issues and reiterates SDSU's vision for campus expansion.

The document calls for many of the elements in the FS Investors' plan, such as parkland, housing, office space and retail development. It includes a 35,000-40,000-seat multi-use stadium, and office space that will be initially open to private interests but eventually taken over by the university.

Housing would be for graduate students, faculty and staff, and the general public.

"It's a rare opportunity for SDSU and one that will not come again," Jacobs said. "The Mission Valley site is the only proximate piece of land capable of solving SDSU's long-term expansion needs."

Jacobs said a more detailed plan will be unveiled in the coming months.

Faulconer's press secretary, Craig Gustafson, told City News Service that Chief of Staff Aimee Faucett has been meeting with various stakeholders on several issues in her first days on the job.

"She met with SDSU officials last week and the future of the stadium site was one of the topics discussed," Gustafson said. "Finding a solution for SDSU's future needs remains an important part of any discussion related to the stadium site."

Faulconer has endorsed the FS Investors project and has held previous meetings with SDSU executives about campus expansion.

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