City officials plan to appeal a court ruling that could scuttle or significantly delay a planned mixed-use redevelopment of the aging San Diego Sports Arena that is expected to include an entertainment district and more than 4,200 residential units.
The California Supreme Court could decide whether the city improperly removed a 30-foot neighborhood height limit through a ballot measure without first conducting an environmental review. At stake is the future of Midway Rising, a proposed commercial redevelopment of the nearly 60-year-old sports venue in the city’s Midway neighborhood, about five miles north of downtown San Diego.
A state appeals court ruled this month that the city should have conducted the review based on California regulations for such projects, before placing a ballot measure before voters that was approved in 2022, removing the height limit. The appeals ruling reversed a lower court ruling that an environmental review was not required prior to the measure’s ballot placement, after a lawsuit was filed by Save Our Access, an environmental advocacy group.
Among other selling points, the city and developers said the project marked a crucial step toward boosting affordable housing when San Diego faces a decades-long shortfall, like many California cities. San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria this week said he will ask the city council to appeal the latest ruling to the California Supreme Court.
“In addition to the appeal, city staff have identified multiple paths to keep the redevelopment of the city’s sports arena property moving forward,” Gloria said in a statement. “I will not allow San Diego to miss out on an opportunity that holds massive benefits for San Diegans, including thousands of permanent new jobs, affordable homes, a new entertainment center and billions in economic activity.”
“Failure is simply not an option, and we will get this done,” Gloria said. The mayor said he was also extending by one year the negotiating timeline for the city and the project’s selected developers to finalize costs and other details, taking it to Dec. 4, 2026, while legal issues are being settled.
Midway Rising is planned by a group that includes affordable housing builder Chelsea Investment Corp., mixed-use developer Zephyr, sports venue developer Legends Global and the Kroenke Group, led by Stan Kroenke, owner of the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams and developer of that city’s SoFi Stadium.
Plans for the 48-acre San Diego project call for replacing the aging, city-owned sports arena with a new 16,000-seat facility and replacing surrounding parking lots with elements that include public parks and an entertainment district with about 130,000 square feet of commercial space.
Also planned are more than 4,200 rental and for-sale residential units, with about 2,000 to be designated as affordable housing for residents earning up to 80% of the region’s median income.
The Midway Rising developer group said the latest court ruling would not affect its plans, noting California law favors projects that promote development of affordable housing on government-owned properties designated as surplus or otherwise underused.
“There are numerous state laws in place designed to advance affordable housing, and Midway Rising is one of the largest affordable housing projects in state history,” the group said in a statement this week. “As a result, we remain confident in our ability to deliver this world class project.”
San Diego is among several U.S. cities counting on proposed sports-related, mixed-use development projects to help generate year-round hubs of new social activity and tax revenue. Others include Chicago, Cleveland, Atlanta, Denver and Kansas City, Missouri.
With a name that changes frequently based on naming rights arrangements, the San Diego sports venue is currently known as Pechanga Arena. Opened in 1966, it remains home to concerts and sports including the American Hockey League and National Lacrosse League.