With its sweeping white sails and rounded glass windows, the San Diego Convention Center still looks like a pretty modern building.
But the original section will turn 37 this year and the expansion will mark its 25th anniversary in November.
“I think there are few buildings that provide more positive economic impact in our community than the San Diego Convention Center,” said Mayor Todd Gloria, who went on to stress the importance of the building to San Diego’s economy.
“Over a billion dollars in regional impacts, over a thousand people who are directly employed. It is a very, very important part of our economy here in San Diego and it’s worthy and it needs investment,” he said.
Corey Albright is the Chief of Infrastructure and Modernization for the convention center. He said decades after it opened, a lot of work needs to be done.
“So the roof is first. That is the project that's anticipated to be first," Albright said, before listing some longer range projects, including central plant replacement. “That's our boilers, our chillers, everything that creates the air and temperature control in the building. That's a multi-year phased replacement.”
The money to do all this comes from the Transient Occupancy Tax. Visitors to San Diego pay that when they stay in hotel rooms; the closer you are to the Convention Center, the higher the tax.
Voters approved the tax with the passage of Measure C in 2020. After years of legal wrangling, the city started collecting the tax last May.
Gloria said the tax money also is earmarked for other critical city needs: roads and homelessness. “That money will be in place for decades to come, which gives us that reliable resource to do those three things I think are really important,” he said.
Albright took us to one place set for a major repair, and there we saw something quite unexpected: There are tennis courts on the roof of the Convention Center!
At one time, they were an amenity for guests at the neighboring Marriott, but they haven’t been used for years. Albright said they’ll be removed to make way for a new roof that will be solar-ready.
The overarching importance of all of this is to keep San Diego competitive in the highly competitive world of booking conventions. Gloria said part of his job is selling San Diego, and the convention center is a major part of that effort.
“These kinds of investments are noticed by the industry. They plan far in advance," he said. "When they start to see the improvements get underway, they will continue to come back here over and over again.”
The work should begin very soon, and Albright said through careful planning, the convention center will be able to stay open through all the renovations and upgrades over the coming years.
