Golden Hall, the 62-year-old indoor arena in the heart of San Diego's Civic Center that has sat empty since 2024, could soon be redeveloped by the San Diego Community College District thanks to an agreement signed Monday.
Mayor Todd Gloria joined SDCCD Chancellor Gregory Smith on Monday to sign a Memorandum of Understanding to begin evaluating a possible redevelopment of the site. They were joined by Prebys Foundation CEO Grant Oliphant and Downtown San Diego Partnership President/CEO Betsy Brennan who have been leading efforts to "revitalize San Diego's downtown center."
Monday's agreement will allow the district to look into converting the 3,200-person capacity building -- long used as an Election Night headquarters for parties across the spectrum and from 2019-2024 as a temporary homeless shelter -- into an educational and cultural campus.
"This is about putting a major civic site to better use for San Diegans. Golden Hall has served our city for nearly 70 years, and now we have an opportunity to transform it -- making sure it delivers more value through education, arts, and community use," Gloria said. "We have to be smart about the assets we have, and this effort takes an innovative look at what's possible. It's the first step in exploring a future that reflects who we are today and where we're going."
The agreement serves multiple roles for the city, which has designs on redeveloping the entire civic core but lacks the funding to do so on its own. SDCCD could alleviate some of the financial burden.