Old article, but does a good job explaining why SoccerCity is a loser for SDSU: http://www.thedailyaztec.com/81638/opini...-red-card/

Quote:Redevelopment should be in the best interests of the city and university; not outside developers looking for retail profit.

On Monday, a La Jolla investment group trying to bring a Major League Soccer franchise to San Diego released plans for a massive redevelopment project at the Mission Valley site now occupied by Qualcomm Stadium and an expansive, ugly parking lot.

FS Investors’ plan, in the form of artist renderings and a 300-page ballot initiative, includes a 30,000-seat stadium for MLS and San Diego State football, along with housing and commercial development.

For SDSU and the community it serves, this proposal is a non-starter.

SDSU released a statement Monday that took issue with two facets of the initiative — First, that the proposed stadium is not expandable to 40,000 seats, and secondly that the university would not have “revenue or rights of ownership” of it.

While the university is right to take issue with these points, it is only the tip of the iceberg FS Investors is trying to steer San Diego voters into.

What appeared to be general consensus among many — that the site should be either donated or leased to SDSU for a campus expansion — has been supplanted by a plan for public land to be sold at bargain rates to developers. Sure, FS Investors dressed up their proposal with promises of parks, sports facilities and “affordable” and “student-focused” housing, but what it is really is a massive, purely commercial development, guaranteed to line the pockets of investors at the expense of a public resource.