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Court Rejects Lawsuit Against SDSU West

This artist's rendering shows what a possible San Diego State University stadium might look like. The school wants to build a stadium in Mission Valley if it can buy land there.
This artist's rendering shows what a possible San Diego State University stadium might look like. The school wants to build a stadium in Mission Valley if it can buy land there.

SDSU West proponents Friday praised the Superior Court of California's recent decision to reject a lawsuit alleging improper use of the San Diego State University name.

The lawsuit was filed in April by FS Investors-associated backers of the SoccerCity initiative, which proposes a 23,500-seat soccer stadium and mixed-use spaces for the Mission Valley stadium site.

Friends of SDSU, a coalition of university alumni, community and business leaders, instead calls for a new 35,000-seat Aztecs football stadium and other amenities at the site.

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RELATED: SDSU West Secures Enough Signatures To Appear On Ballot

Both initiatives appear headed to the November ballot, pending legal review. Whichever receives the most votes — provided its over 50 percent — will earn rights to negotiate with the city over plans for the stadium site.

The lawsuit claimed Friends of SDSU tricked San Diegans into signing a petition to get the initiative on the ballot by making it appear that the university had sanctioned the proposal. By law, the school is prohibited from endorsing an initiative.

RELATED: San Diego State Eyes Private Partners For Mission Valley Development

Bill Hammett, Friends of SDSU steering committee member, said the court's rejection of the lawsuit affirms the SDSU West initiative's place on the November ballot.

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He said the decision "also makes it clear that the frivolous FS Investors-backed lawsuit lacked any merit in its allegations, because SDSU West fully complies with California State Law, San Diego City Charter and the California Education Code."