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For the first time in nearly 28 years, the San Diego skyline will be very, very different. The San Diego Convention Center's iconic Sails Pavilion roof, with its white peaks that are visible from the air, land and bay, will be coming down in order to be replaced with a brand new structure."The white sails roof atop the 90,000 square foot exhibit space is part of what has made the San Diego Convention Center one of the most recognizable venues, worldwide," said San Diego Convention Center Corporation President & CEO Clifford "Rip" Rippetoe. "Thanks to a collaborative effort between our staff, our Board of Directors as well as City and State officials, we secured funding to extend the life of this unique facility asset."After nearly three decades in service, the original sails will be taken down — one section at a time. The preliminary work will begin in August, with the entire project lasting through January 2018. In addition, the fire-life safety system that is part of the Sails Pavilion — including fire water cannons - will be upgraded, and new lighting will be installed.
The Sails Pavilion is a unique space. It's always nice to walk through during the con.
You are not allowed to view links. Register or LoginA Sails Pavilion with no sails?! It's the first step in our project to replace the iconic fabric roof. Our CEO Rip Rippetoe has the details!
Im guessing any work going on around comic-con time will put on hold like a week before and all be stablized or fixed so place is useable while the event happens and then will continue i guess a week after so all stuff can be brought in and taken out before they start or continue any work on place. so guessing maybe be open air or partial open while con is happening upstair, will be a temp coveringso so no one gotta fry while in the open air area at time of con. atleast i would think they do that if need at time. so they gonna be busy before and after the con to have the center be useable at anytime.
In the video, he says that the entire project will be complete by this January. So it won't affect Comic-Con.
Is it just me that gets a giddy feeling when watching the video and seeing the different halls and such that I camped out in ("I was *there!*") or no? Can't wait to try and get back for next year!
San Diego tourism and business leaders are working aggressively on a renewed effort to finance a convention center expansion with a hike in the hotel room tax that would be put before voters next June. The prospect of getting what would be a citizens initiative on the ballot will depend heavily on the willingness of organized labor and community groups, including advocates for the homeless, to sign on to the effort. The measure being considered would include funding for both an expansion of the bayfront center, as well as homeless services. It is also possible that money for road improvements would be covered but no firm decisions have been made.Among the local stakeholders represented in multiple meetings are hotel industry executives, San Diego Building & Construction Trades Council, the hotel workers union, the San Diego Downtown Partnership and groups advocating for the homeless and social justice. Although the measure is being pushed as a citizens initiative, a staffer with Mayor Kevin Faulconer’s office has been present in at least one meeting, although a mayoral spokeswoman said that any staffer who participates is doing so using personal vacation leave. “Mayor Faulconer included homeless funding in his 2017 ballot measure because he recognized that San Diego needs more funding now to help tackle our homeless crisis,” said a statement Monday from the mayor’s office. “Unfortunately, the past several months have proven the mayor to be right.”Earlier this year, Faulconer tried, unsuccessfully, to persuade the City Council to hold a special election this November to consider a hotel room tax increase. His proposal would have boosted the tax by 1 to 3 percentage points, with nearly two-thirds of the $5 billion raised over 40 years going toward financing an expanded convention center costing as much as $685 million. The balance of the tax revenues were to be split evenly between funding programs to reduce homelessness and tackling street repairs. At the time, that proposal generated considerable opposition from homeless advocates who argued far too little money was set aside for a problem that had reached crisis proportions.Not only are hoteliers and tourism leaders facing a tight timeline for qualifying a measure for the June ballot, but they are also having to overcome some resistance from community advocacy groups, such as Alliance San Diego, which describes itself as a community empowerment organization. “Every time the mayor ties a homelessness response to the convention center, he belies his true priorities and fails to lead,” the group said in a blog post Monday. “The homelessness crisis requires an immediate response that is focused and meaningful, and is not tied to an election on an issue that has nothing to do with the crisis.” Alliance San Diego also pointed to Measure L, passed by voters last year, that requires citizens initiatives and referendums to be voted on in higher turnout elections in November. The City Council, though, has the latitude to override that.Still, backers of a June ballot measure feel buoyed by a recent state Supreme Court ruling that appears to make it easier to pass tax increases for special purposes. Ordinarily, such measures would require a two-thirds majority vote, but the court ruling concluded that a super majority requirement does not apply to citizens initiatives. While it is still not entirely clear whether only a simple majority is needed to pass a citizens initiative seeking a tax increase, backers of the expansion believe it gives them a narrow window for advancing a June measure. Those participating in current talks have been unwilling to speak on the record about their negotiations for a June measure, which they say has still not been hammered out. Laura Fink, a spokeswoman for the group, issued a statement reinforcing the collaborative nature of the meetings. “Community, business and labor coming together in conversation is a great thing for San Diego,” Fink said. “The hope of everyone involved is to find common ground and work together.”Joe Terzi, CEO of the San Diego Tourism Authority and a big booster for a convention center expansion, said he has been briefed on talks and remains hopeful that backers can qualify an initiative in time for the June ballot. The lodging industry will get a fuller briefing on Tuesday, he said. “I’m just very encouraged as to where we are,” he said. “It’s a collaborative discussion and this is the first time in a while where people who have a stake in this are at the table working collaboratively. There are some very intensive discussions taking place, and everyone has their own issues, but I think you’ll see that will coalesce around getting the initiative on the June ballot.” Gil Cabrera, vice chairman of the San Diego Convention Center Corp. board, said he, too, is aware of ongoing discussions about a citizens initiative and believes there are still points of contention being worked out around the allocation of funding for the homeless, as well as bringing labor on board. “There is also a fundamental discussion about whether you should put an expansion on the same ballot as homeless funding,” he said. “The advocates would rather have their own initiative standing alone.”No matter what happens, backers of a convention center expansion still face another major hurdle. The site where the expansion would go is controlled by longtime Port of San Diego tenants Ray Carpenter and Art Engel, who are processing plans to build a $300 million hotel project on their leasehold. “We’re watching this closely and depending on how they proceed will determine how we react to a project that has no real estate,” said Carpenter. “I think this is a self-serving move by the hoteliers to eliminate competition.” Terzi noted that if an initiative is drafted, the hotel owners and operators have committed to help fund most of the costs of a signature-gathering campaign, which could amount to as much as $400,000, he said.