Comic-Con 2014

[Mugsy]

Originally Posted by moved

It turns out that she wasn't assaulted, she fell.

Thanks for clearing that up!

I am a crowd hater myself, but I am not freaked out in crowds. I have been around downtown during comic con, it seems to get bigger every year.

I heard from some people who went last year that there are waiting areas just to enter into lines to go into another line before seeing the exhibit or show...

[hitman619]

Setback dealt to San Diego's bid to expand convention center

SAN DIEGO (CNS) - Just a week after Comic-Con International, San Diego's bid to keep the huge annual trade show in town was dealt a severe setback Friday when a state appellate court struck down the mechanism being used to fund a $520 million expansion of the convention center.

The justices ruled that a levy on hotel property owners that they themselves approved violates the state constitution and the City Charter, which call for a public vote and a two-thirds majority for a special tax to take effect. The money raised by the levy was going to pay for most, but not all, of the construction costs.

City officials had contended the vote was only required by the people who own the land on which lodging facilities sit, since it only affects them.

"The convention center expansion is critically important for our regional economy," Mayor Kevin Faulconer said. "It would create thousands of good jobs and ensure that we continue to attract large conventions like Comic- Con. We will be working with the City Attorney's Office to review all options in moving forward."

About 130,000 people attended this year's Comic-Con, which concluded Sunday. Organizers of the annual event have been courted by other cities hoping to lure it away through the prospect of larger facilities.

The show filled the convention center, and events also were held at nearby hotels.

The addition of 740,000 square feet would give San Diego's convention center the largest amount of contiguous floor space on the West Coast. Tourism officials contend that having the floor space all together is a top priority for trade show planners.

However, the appellate ruling likely means the expansion won't happen anytime soon. Comic-Con is only committed to San Diego through 2016.

Appellate Justices Cynthia Aaron, Judith McConnell and Terry O'Rourke said they understood the city's desire to make the convention center bigger, but were duty-bound to uphold the constitution and charter.

They returned the case to Superior Court Judge Ronald Prager, who issued an initial ruling upholding the funding plan.

Former mayor Jerry Sanders, now president and chief executive officer of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, call the appeals court's ruling "a great loss for our city."

"It is unfortunate that this project will now be delayed even further, increasing the strain on our city's ability to attract convention business that bolsters the economy and creates thousands of jobs for San Diegans," Sanders said.

He added that chamber officials were "hopeful that the city can work to put together a new plan that will meet the necessary legal requirements and allow the expansion project to move forward
Setback dealt to San Diego's bid to expand convention center | San Diego 6 | Local News

Who's Palms do we need to grease to make this happen.

[sapphire]

We went to the Con in 2011 and 2012 and IF we ever go again it will be without tickets. The exhibit hall is a claustrophobic nightmare. People are so rude. I guess geeks don't have a lot of social skills because there is nothing that warrants an "Excuse me" or an "I'm sorry! " The ticket selling process is enough to make me drink and curse....so stressful! And after spending over 2 grand on 2 hotel rooms for 4 nights and eating crappy overpriced food (at the Con AND in Hotel Circle) I think it's better to stay a little further out and take the train in to the area and just wander around the areas outside the Convention Center. Just being there is really fun and would satisfy our Inner Geeks.

I hope it stays in San Diego. It's so beautiful there and I'm sure it has to be a huge boon to the economy. We went and watched a play one night, visited the zoo both times, and ate in some fantastic local restaurants near the zoo.

[drewniverse]

Originally Posted by sapphire

We went to the Con in 2011 and 2012 and IF we ever go again it will be without tickets. The exhibit hall is a claustrophobic nightmare. People are so rude. I guess geeks don't have a lot of social skills because there is nothing that warrants an "Excuse me" or an "I'm sorry! " The ticket selling process is enough to make me drink and curse....so stressful! And after spending over 2 grand on 2 hotel rooms for 4 nights and eating crappy overpriced food (at the Con AND in Hotel Circle) I think it's better to stay a little further out and take the train in to the area and just wander around the areas outside the Convention Center. Just being there is really fun and would satisfy our Inner Geeks.

I hope it stays in San Diego. It's so beautiful there and I'm sure it has to be a huge boon to the economy. We went and watched a play one night, visited the zoo both times, and ate in some fantastic local restaurants near the zoo.

Comic-con is laughable to say the least. I grew up in San Diego and still haven't gone because it's too expensive, large crowds are just a bust for me, and everyone I've spoken to all say the same thing. It's just a bunch of booths of people spontaneously buying crap and standing in lines longer than you'd see at Magic Mountain.

The hotel industry has Kevin Faulconer in their pocket so they tried to do what the last administration knew they couldn't do and it was stuck down by the court as unconstitutional. Majority votes are now necessary and San Diegens know they need the money spent in other places.

They need to put a bill on the ballot that does 2 things:

Provides a special tax on hotels to pay for the expansion, subsidies and kickbacks used to attract them.

It will forbid use of San Diego's general fund to pay for the expansions and operations or other costs associated with the convention center. This would also not allow them to launder the general fund through other government agencies like port authority to pay for convention center stuff.

If they can't get CES or ComicCon to come to SD unless they waive the center rent/fees then the bill will raise the tax.

[skeke]

I've never gone and probably never will but I have two women friends in their 60s who love it and go ever year all done up in costumes. To each his/her own. People seem to get a lot of fun out of it and and it certainly is good for the San Diego economy. My daughter, who lives in LA and is a PR person had to work the event for three years or so in a row and was very pleased not to work it this year.