After Plans To Expand Convention Center Fall Apart, Will Comic-Con International Leave San Diego?
Comics-industry insiders say Comic-Con International's history with San Diego is too well-established for the convention's organizers to ever pick up and move to another city, but many are fretting about just that after a tax plan that would have paid for an expansion to San Diego's convention center went bust.
Last month, the Fourth District Court of Appeals struck down a hotel levy that would have been the main funding mechanism for improvements to the convention center. The San Diego City Council decided last week not to appeal that ruling, leaving the convention center in quite a fix. The expansion plan was a big reason why Comic-Con re-upped with San Diego through 2016.
Now, city officials are going to have to find a new way to foot the bill for the expansion, and fast. The renovations were supposed to start late this year, and other cities--namely Los Angeles and Anaheim--have made overtures about wanting to host Comic-Con in the future.
To allay worries, Comic-Con International's David Glanzer said that the space at the convention center is just one factor among many--including hotel space and rates--in determining where Comic-Con takes place.
"We hope there will be a solution that allows Comic-Con to stay in San Diego for years to come," he said. That certainly seems to leave the door open to a move.