San Diego on Thursday ended its lease negotiations with Save Starlight, a nonprofit which had been seeking to re-purpose the 91-year- old Starlight Bowl in Balboa Park.
The city's Parks and Recreation Department will secure the site and maintain the Starlight Bowl. The city will also seek new bids for a food service vendor in the upper concourse area of the amphitheater in the coming weeks.
"The Starlight Bowl is a landmark of Balboa Park and a beloved part of San Diego's history," Mayor Todd Gloria said in a statement. "This part of the park should be cared for, active, and welcoming to the public — and my administration remains focused on practical steps to make that happen."
City resources will also be used for landscape maintenance and security staffing for areas within and around the venue. San Diego city leaders plan to update the Balboa Park Master Plan this month to preserve, revitalize and enhance the park.
Originally built in 1935 as part of the California Exposition, the Starlight Bowl hosted acts including the Rolling Stones, Ella Fitzgerald, Bob Dylan, the Ramones and Diana Ross before falling into disrepair and closing as a performance venue in 2010.
In 2014, the city published a condition assessment on the property, confirming the venue was in "poor physical condition and would require tens of millions in rehabilitation costs to address serious structural, electrical, acoustic and accessibility issues," according to the city.
In 2017, San Diego issued a special-use permit to Save Starlight in an attempt to restore the facility. The nonprofit began work on accessibility and restroom improvements, but when it came time to renew the special-use permit, the city found Save Starlight was operating without a nonprofit license for at least part of the time it was permitted.
Save Starlight was then the only bidder in a 2024 city-led request for proposals to manage the Starlight Bowl. However, in August of this year, city staff received concerns regarding the nonprofit's board and financial controls.
"The city's decision follows a review of Save Starlight's response to those concerns," according to a city statement. "After providing Save Starlight with the opportunity to respond, the city has determined that the concerns could not be resolved to a standard that would justify continued negotiation."
