San Diego’s Convention Center is under attack by Anaheim, who is trying to persuade the leaders of Comic-Con to move the event to the Anaheim Convention Center. Most people have no idea just how much this one week event does for the city of San Diego.

Comic-Con is by far the largest convention in San Diego and it fills hotels and restaurants for an entire week. The amount of revenue that business owners and the city profit during this one week is a substantial percentage of the revenue that comes to our city for the entire summer. Comic-Con is a celebration of modern art and is truly one of the most inspiring events for local artists and art-centric businesses.

If San Diego loses Comic-Con, this will be a devastating loss to the city. As San Diegan’s we need to support our city and our local businesses to keep events like Comic-Con as an annual tradition.

Is Downtown San Diego the Best location for Comic Con?

Determined to uproot the pop-art extravaganza from its longtime home in downtown San Diego, Anaheim has taken to the Internet to demonstrate to convention organizers the intensity of its devotion. Earlier this month, Anaheim launched its Facebook page, “Bring Comic-Con International to Anaheim.”

San Diego Convention Center officials made a quick counter offensive by creating a “Keep Comic-Con in San Diego” page started by convention habitués more than a month ago. This page has four times the number of fans that Anaheim has, but still needs our local support.

Now Los Angeles, which also is trying to woo Comic-Con, is thinking about jumping on the bandwagon by creating a page of its own. It’s almost like a comic, “the battle of the superhero cities.”  Will San Diego Prevail? 

Frustrated with cramped space in the San Diego Convention Center, Comic-Con leaders have been talking to Anaheim, as well as Los Angeles, about the possibility of relocating as its four-day show continues to grow. All three cities have submitted formal proposals seeking to host Comic-Con for 2013 and beyond.

What is next for the San Diego Convention Center?

San Diego is exploring the expansion of its convention center and Mayor Jerry Sanders is in favor of the expansion. For every dollar the city has put into the convention center, it has received over $1.75 return on its investment.  The expansion makes sense for San Diego financially and will provide jobs in the interim.

San Diego’s proposal for a three-year deal with Comic-Con includes an offer of 300,000 square feet of free meeting space at the city’s three bayfront convention hotels, as well as an expanded block of hotel rooms with discounted convention rates. Responding to concerns from Comic-Con, San Diego hoteliers agreed that no rooms would exceed $300 a night.

There is no comparison between San Diego and Anahiem. San Diego boasts thousands of nearby hotel rooms, an amazing bayside location and the lively Gaslamp Quarter. Visitors to Comic-con can fly in to San Diego and not even need to rent a car. Downtown San Diego is located just minutes from the airport and has a major railway train station. To host the event in Anaheim would require all guests to drive or fly in and rent a car.

“Our Facebook page is authentic.  It all started with the fans, and it was not done as part of a marketing piece,” said Steven Johnson, spokesman for the San Diego Convention Center Corp. “So on their own, they have over 4,100 people, so in that case, our fans far outshine the support the O.C. has gotten.”.

There’s hardly an argument Comic-Con organizers haven’t heard when it comes to whether the event should stay or go, said Comic-Con spokesman David Glanzer. Ultimately, more important issues like convention space and hotel costs, will be the deciding factor, but event organizers are interested in what consumers have to say.

Voice your opinion on Facebook and support San Diego to keep Comic-Con where it belongs.