USD weighs in on Measures E&G
A rendering of the stadium and surrounding development proposed under Measure G, also known as SDSU.
Photo courtesy of sdsuwest.org
A look at what the Soccer City / SDSU West debate means (or doesn’t) to the USD community
Eric Boose / Contributor / The USD Vista
Since 2017, 166 acres of land in Mission Valley have sat underused, a dilapidated shell of what the grounds were when then-Qualcomm Stadium was home to the San Diego Chargers, Padres, concerts, and more. The issue of deciding who will have the privilege of redeveloping the newly-renamed San Diego County Credit Union Stadium has become one of the more contentious issues on this years’ ballot. While USD students are unlikely to be greatly affected by either proposal, both Measure E and Measure G, better known as Soccer City and SDSU West respectively, offer unique benefits for the city of San Diego.
Soccer City and SDSU West each promise to build a new stadium in place of the current one, but the proposals have their own plans for how to surround the new venue. Soccer City promises to lure a Major League Soccer (MLS) expansion team to San Diego, and plans therefore include additional soccer fields to be used by both recreational teams and a new soccer academy.
Sophomore Jimmy Ryan, a Carlsbad native and member of USD’s men’s soccer team, is excited by the boost Soccer City would give the soccer culture in San Diego, but even he is skeptical that it would impact USD’s soccer programs.
“We just lost the Chargers… I know everyone in San Diego was devastated when they went to LA,” Ryan said. “But there’s also a big Latino presence in San Diego and I know that they all go down for the Xolos games in Mexico, so I’m sure that they would come out to see whatever San Diego team.” Ryan also explained that the change in culture would likely impact youth soccer in San Diego.
“It also brings a youth program with it, it brings these academy systems, it’d bring just a stronger youth presence to build better homegrown players from San Diego,” Ryan said. “I played for an academy called Surf, there’s this whole academy system across the U.S., and we played against Real Salt Lake and LA Galaxy, who had a first team that played in the MLS. We didn’t have that and we still competed against them and so I always wondered what it would be like to be actually working towards going pro like all the teams we were playing against. I always wondered what it would have been like to be oh, I’m trying to make it on the professional team, not just get recruited by colleges.”
Along with new fields, the Soccer City plan includes a 34-acre park centered around the San Diego River and buildings for retail space and restaurants near the stadium.
An early rendering of the facilities proposed under Measure E, also known as SoccerCity.
Photo courtesy of FS Investors
On the other hand, SDSU West proposes a modern home for SDSU’s football program: a 35,000 seat stadium which, as USD professor Michael Canepa points out, does not inherently rule out a soccer team in San Diego. Canepa is a long-time San Diegan, an SDSU alumni, and a former sportswriter for The San Diego Union-Tribune.
“I think the thing that gets lost in all this, and maybe the media hasn’t done a good job of explaining this, even if San Diego State gets this land, it doesn’t mean that a soccer team can’t come and play in that stadium,” Canepa said. “They build a 35,000 seat stadium for San Diego State football, it certainly doesn’t mean that an MLS team could not come in and play in that stadium.”
SDSU West also serves to expand SDSU’s current campus size, and will include multiple research and technology buildings, as well as student residences. Like Soccer City, SDSU West plans to include a park on the river, but instead of 34 acres, the park in SDSU’s proposal takes up nearly 90 acres.
USD sophomore Ryan Ferron sees no benefit to Toreros from SDSU West.
“Personally, I don’t see it making an impact for that many students at USD,” Ferron said. “At least, not in a way that SDCCU Stadium doesn’t already provide. I think the addition of a stadium would be useful as a venue for San Diego, but it wouldn’t be the best or closest large venue that San Diego has.”
Soccer City and SDSU West are on the ballot for residents of the City of San Diego, and are separate ballot measures.
If Soccer City’s Measure E and SDSU West’s Measure G both pass, the measure which receives the most votes will win. If neither receives a majority of “yes” votes, the Mayor’s Office will hear other proposals for how to use the land.
Election day is Tuesday, Nov 6. A polling place will be set up in the Degheri Alumni Center.