A ballpark and neighborhood change: Economic integration, a recession, and the altered demography of San Diego's Ballpark District after eight years

In the 1990s the owner of the San Diego Padres and San Diego entered into a partnership for the building of a new ballpark. The public sector invested $209 million and the team spent $187.1 million and retained all revenues from the new facility. At first blush this might seem like the typically imbalanced public/private partnership with the public sector spending more than the team and the ballclub getting to keep all of the revenues. What made this deal unique, however, was that the team owner also guaranteed that $487 million in new real estate development would occur near the ballpark adhering to a plan approved by the City that would create a new downtown neighborhood that included amenities and elements specified by San Diego. Despite this guarantee criticisms included fears of gentrification and that the development would merely replace what would have happened elsewhere. Those issues have been analyzed elsewhere. This article focuses on (1) the extent to which a new neighborhood was populated and sustained; (2) the creation of an economically integrated neighborhood; (3) the ability of the Ballpark District to attract young well-educated individuals as well as older higher income residents, and (4) the ability of the new neighborhood to protect property values during the recession. The data analyzed suggest that an economically integrated neighborhood has been created with property values that remained relatively stable during the recession. In addition, the neighborhood has attracted a large number of highly educated workers with few demands for public services.