DEL MAR — The family that owns the San Diego Wave women’s soccer club has proposed redeveloping the Del Mar Fairgrounds with a new soccer stadium, hotel, convention center and parking garage.
Lauren Leichtman and her son, Zachary Leichtman-Levine, presented their plans to the board of the 22nd District Agricultural Association at its monthly meeting Tuesday morning as part of the Master Site Planning Committee report.
The Wave ownership, which has been working with the Master Site Planning Committee, told the full board that its long-term plans include having a dedicated stadium for the team when its current lease at San Diego State University’s Snapdragon Stadium expires. The owners are also considering building a new training facility in the Del Mar area, but that would not be part of this project.
The Wave compete in the National Women’s Soccer League, the top level of women’s professional soccer in North America. The owners are looking to build a stadium with a capacity of 12,000 to 16,000 — less than half the size of Snapdragon Stadium, which seats 35,000.
Leichtman-Levine said the smaller stadium would better align with dedicated soccer stadiums in the NWSL.
Leichtman-Levine told the board that the Wave are at the bottom of the priority list for scheduling at Snapdragon, behind SDSU’s football team, the men’s San Diego FC of Major League Soccer and special events such as concerts.
“We would like to be able to provide a supportive, women’s purpose-built stadium for the San Diego Wave,” Leichtman-Levine said.
While the site map they shared showed a stadium, convention center and parking garage clustered on the south side of the fairgrounds, Leichtman-Levine emphasized that the illustrations are conceptual only and that no site studies or other development work have been conducted.
The parking garage is expected to accommodate roughly 1,300 cars, the hotel would have about 300 rooms, and the convention center would encompass 125,000 square feet. The plan also includes a retail and restaurant district to attract visitors year-round, and a proposed tram would circle the fairgrounds and include a stop at the approved train platform.
Wave ownership emphasized that the plans would preserve both the racetrack and the annual San Diego County Fair.
A timeline shared with the board showed the stadium opening in 2031, the shops and restaurants in 2033, and the hotel and convention center the following year.
The family requested a two-year exclusive negotiating period that would justify spending millions of dollars on detailed site plans to present to the board for future approval.
In response to the request to place such an agreement on the November agenda, Director Kathlyn Mead asked whether the 22nd DAA had solicited proposals from other potential development partners. Sam Nejabat, chair of the Master Site Planning Committee, told her the committee had not proactively sought proposals but had been meeting with groups that approached the fairgrounds.
Board Vice Chair Lisa Barkett asked the Wave representatives whether they had considered including affordable housing in the project. A member of the development team said they were open to the idea.
Barkett followed up by asking where the 22nd DAA’s offices would be located.
“We can certainly add additional office space,” Leichtman-Levine said, also pointing out that the family has experience building housing.
Becky Bartling, CEO of the 22nd DAA, pointed to a previous effort to develop a master plan for the fairgrounds.
“We went through the master plan process in 2000 for several years, and ultimately finalized it with the EIR (environmental impact review). The challenge was we didn’t have any money, so nothing got done.”
Boardmember Frederick Schenk said he also wanted to hear from other potential developers before moving forward.
Mead closed the discussion by asking staff to develop a timeline for accepting both solicited and unsolicited proposals. The board took no action because the presentation was informational.
