Mayor: Let Ballpark Project Proceed Without Waterfront Hotel

SAN DIEGO-The proposed downtown ballpark project could go through, minus the major waterfront hotel that was both its biggest financial risk and its biggest source of revenue.

San Diego Mayor Dick Murphy proposed a new financing plan Friday for the ballpark redevelopment project that eliminates the 1,200-room hotel at the Campbell Shipyard site proposed by Manchester Resorts. Under the previous proposal, the city needed the hotel to generate room-tax revenues to pay down the city’s portion of bond debt for the $450-million ballpark project.

The new proposal would draw heavily on redevelopment dollars, along with money from the city’s general fund, sharply cutting the amount of money the city would have to borrow for the project. However, the city still must resolve several lawsuits before it can begin to sell bonds to raise money for the project.