The San Diego International Sports Arena, an impressive concrete venue in the Midway District and longtime home of the San Diego Gulls, deserves special recognition ahead of its expected demolition.
On Thursday, the city of San Diego's Historic Resources Commission voted unanimously, with Chairman Tim Hitter vetoing it, to designate the 58-year-old sports arena as a historic resource.
The measure does not prohibit demolition, but instead is based on three factors: its role in transforming the Midway area into a commercial center after World War II, its association with local sports legends, and its New Formalist architectural style. Arena is officially recognized in two areas. This property will be added to the Regional Register of Designated Historic Resources.
The Historic Resources Committee is a volunteer committee whose members are appointed by the mayor and has authority over the city's historical resources.
The agency considered the venue's historic value as a step toward a broader analysis of potential environmental impacts associated with the Midway Levee Identification Plan, as required by California's Environmental Quality Act.
“This designation does not preclude redevelopment of the site or demolition of the sports arena. It simply begins the process of evaluating whether viable alternatives exist that can reduce impacts to historic resources.” a city spokesperson said. “(The Historic Resources Commission) will review the project as part of its review process and provide recommendations to decision makers.”
Under state law, the future demolition of the existing stadium, as planned, would constitute a substantial adverse alteration with the loss of historic resources.
“We look forward to beginning to work with the city to explore different ways we can honor and preserve the history of the arena and its location within the largest affordable housing development in California history.” said Shelby Jordan, Midway Rising project director and sports industry executive. Entertainment venue operator Legend said in a statement.
The designation is the latest in a series of actions related to the city's long-standing effort to lease and start over the city's properties at 3220, 3240, 3250 and 3500 Sports Arena Blvd., which began in February 2020. . Located in the Midway area of San Diego.
This commitment was strengthened with the September 2022 selection of the Midway Rising development team, comprised of market-rate housing developer Zephyr, affordable home builder Chelsea Investment Corporation, and Legend. The Kroenke Group, a subsidiary of billionaire Stan Kroenke's real estate company, is the company's lead investor and limited partner.
The city and the development team are currently negotiating a development agreement, which is expected to be presented to San Diego City Council members by the end of the year. Currently, the Midway Rising project calls for 4,250 residential units, a 16,000-seat replacement arena, 130,000 square feet of commercial space, and an unspecified number of acres of parks, plazas, and public spaces. Terms of the proposed land lease have not been made public.
Before the parties can reach an agreement, the city must first determine the environmental impacts of projects and developments planned on three private properties adjacent to the site. Mitigation measures to reduce the impact should also be outlined.
The city began the environmental review process in December, with a draft report expected in the coming months.
As part of that process, cultural resource management company ASM Affiliates evaluated the existing sports arena, now known as Pechanga Arena, to determine its eligibility for national, state and local historic property listings. The 114-page Historic Resources Technical Report targets all three registries based on the arena's relevance to notable development themes, its relevance to important figures, and its relevance to significant architectural styles. I decided that it would be.
The 48-acre sports arena site in the Midway neighborhood is surrounded by Interstate 8, the crest of the San Diego River and commercial development on Oct. 20, 2022.
(KC Alfred/San Diego Union Tribune)
The San Diego International Sports Arena, which opened in November 1966, was built on city-owned land acquired from the federal government in late 1954. The arena was to replace part of the Frontier Housing Project, which included thousands of temporary public housing units that had been built. For the workers of World War II.
According to the historian who prepared the technical report, the flat-roofed venue with concrete walls is emblematic of the New Formalist architectural style, a substyle of modern architecture. The arena's design was inspired by the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, with its monumental scale, symmetry and formality, smooth exterior surfaces, repeating full-height columns, decorative concrete, raised platforms, and Open plazas at ground level are a hallmark of New Formalism. says the report.
The sports arena also symbolizes the growth of postwar recreation and entertainment, and its construction marks the biggest change for the Midway Pacific Highway community in postwar decades, according to the report. The sports arena is said to have been a catalyst for commercial and industrial growth in the area.
It was one of San Diego's first modern sporting event venues and one of the city's major entertainment venues in the late 20th century. The arena's entertainment history dates back to the first concert by James Brown on February 18, 1967, and extends to many performances by big-name artists such as The Doors, Ross & the Supremes, The Rolling Stones, and Nirvana. is.
The venue continues to regularly book major tours and events. Excluding sports, the venue ranked 16th among similar-sized venues in 2023 with $22.8 million in gross sales for 55 performances and 236,000 total attendees, according to Billboard. . Legends plans to take over management through an interim lease agreement with the city as the city's current agreement with ASM Global expires this summer.
Part of its historical significance, historians and city planners say, is the arena's ties to local businessman and sports guru Robert Breitbard.
Breitbard, who owned the Gulls hockey team from 1966 to 1974, is credited with making the arena's construction possible. Breitbird and partners leased 80 acres from the city and privately financed the $6.5 million venue construction with bond proceeds.
Breitbard was also the founder of San Diego's first National Basketball Association team, the San Diego Rockets. News accounts say he sold the franchise to a buyer in Houston in 1971 because of increased property tax burdens.
Breitbard, who died in 2010 at the age of 91, opened the San Diego Hall of Champions Sports Museum in Balboa Park, which closed in 2017.
The Historic Resources Commission designated the arena as a historic landmark based on criteria outlined in a staff report prepared by the city's planning department. The Board considered this item as part of the consent agenda. In other words, the vote was taken without receiving a presentation from the staff or consulting firm that prepared the technical report. Discussion among board members was also limited.
Former state Rep. Lori Saldaña, who spoke during public comment, objected to the brief treatment of the Frontier Housing project in the technical and staff reports. She said reports did not acknowledge that her family was forced from the area. Saldaña also opposes the Midway Uplift project because she believes the project site will soon be underwater given sea level changes.
“So, the reason I object to this is that, frankly, the real history of this area and the city's history of housing discrimination is not being adequately considered, and also because the Midway Uprising (which I refer to as the 'Midway Uprising') This is because we do not think of it as a “wei uprising”). Midway sinks. I just don't think it's the right project in the right place. ”
The arena's historic designation requires the Midway Rising development team to address the arena's loss in the project's specific plan environmental impact report.
ASM Affiliates' recommended mitigations require developers to thoroughly document properties according to established standards. Midway Rising also requires creating publicly accessible interpretive exhibits in the new arena, designed with the help of historians.
The environmental impact report must be certified by the city council.
