Credit: Brookfield Properties

Above: An undated artist rendering of San Diego Arena.

Mayor Kevin Faulconer announced Saturday that Brookfield Housing and ASM Global have been chosen to build an entertainment district in the Midway area that includes a new sports arena, thousands of housing units, park space and retail businesses.

“This project will be so incredible for this city for years to come,” Faulconer said at a news conference Saturday morning with other community leaders at the Pechanga Area, the 48-acre site of the 54-year-old sports arena at 3500 Sports Arena Blvd. in the Midway District.

The other development team that lost out to Brookfield Housing was Toll Brothers Housing, which proposed the Midway Sport and Entertainment District along with other partners, including the SD Loyal soccer team.

Faulconer said the city’s goal is to have the entertainment district include a new arena that would replace Pechanga Arena.

“The vision for this property is for a world-class arena, park space and amenities,” Faulconer said. “A new arena has always been a priority of mine, and it’s the right time.”

The president of the SD Loyal soccer team, Warren Smith, expressed disappointment that the MSED proposal, which included plans for a modular soccer stadium, wasn’t selected.

“Though the news from the city today felt like a punch in the gut, years being married to the sport of soccer has taught me that sometimes you can win on the field and not get the result that matters,” Smith said. “I would also like to congratulate the Brookfield-ASM Global team on their winning of the competitive process and wish them success leading to the turnaround of the sports arena property.”

ASM Global operates 325 venues around the world built by public-private partnerships much like the deal the city will begin negotiating with the Brookfield-ASM Global developers. Negotiations are expected to begin soon and will continue into early next year, the mayor said.

A measure on the November ballot would lift the city’s 30-feet coastal height limit in the Midway District, which would give the city and the developers more flexibility during negotiations.

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