I just read in the San Diego Union more debates in the comments section about the worth of Comic-Con to San Diego. The sticking point in this debate is where the convention is held right now is smaller than the size of the convention. Every year there are complaints from people not being able to go to the convention, of outrageous after market prices for tickets, and while there are sounds of dread about the convention, every year more and more people try to get in.

The city is faced with an interesting dilemma. Expanding the convention center and getting more hotel space in the area will allow, potentially, for more people to attend the convention. Instead of an estimated 130,000 in attendance, the number could go as high as 200,000. That means a lot more revenue for hotels and restaurants in the area.

For someone like myself who has attended Comic-Con for over 30 years, this isn't a new issue. Before the convention moved to the convention center, Comic-Con was held at the Civic Center. There was a great debate at the time if the convention warranted moving to the new convention center. The same arguments given now were given then. Many people felt the convention only catered to locals, so hotel sales wouldn't be high and restaurants wouldn't get a lot of business. I remember a good number of city council people dismissing the geeks and freaks that showed at the convention. At the last convention at the Civic Center, I think the number was somewhere around 35,000+ in attendance. That was in the late 80s. By the mid 90s, when Comic-Con expanded from half of the convention center to all of the convention center (the sail area was just being completed at that point) the numbers were around 80,000+. Essentially when Comic-Con has expanded, more people can attend and in turn more people want to attend. To put things in a closer perspective, five years ago most of the activity of Comic-Con were in the confines of the convention center. Last year you had events happening all around downtown. Buildings that are empty 11 months out of the year were occupied for Comic-Con.

That is income for people.

Five years ago, and I remember this very well, a few downtown shops bothered to cater to convention people. Yes they were welcome, of course, but last year, businesses downtown made it a point to have their businesses stocked with anything remotely related to popular culture. I was in a bar with friends and they had comic themed drinks, which they hadn't done the year before when we were there. Just this year there is an event going on at the stadium, a haunted house-like zombie apocalypse theme park. The Padres are out of town that week, so workers who would have been off for the week will have work. Believe me, it is a hassle getting through downtown when Comic-Con is in town, but that hassle translates into business. Try booking a flight into San Diego during the convention. It will be difficult to do and the price will be higher than normal. In February I thought about booking a downtown hostel for the week of the convention. They were sold out! The week before and after the convention, rooms galore but the week of nothing.

Lord knows I have some issues with the convention as far as the lack of comic content, the catering to Twilight like fads of the moment instead of the roots of popular culture, but that's a geek on geek debate which could be debated until the cows come home. What cannot be disputed is Comic-Con brings in a lot of money to the city, no doubt about that. The question people have to ask is does a huge convention, which come in once a year and definitely needs more space to expand, justify expanding a convention center if that center can't get equally large conventions other times of the year? I am torn about the possibility of Comic-Con moving to another city, I would love for it to always stay in San Diego, but with the demand of tickets they need to have the space to accommodate the crowds that wish to attend. With the current ticket situation, if it continues to be near impossible for people to get tickets then the convention will lose its appeal and that would be bad for the city and for Comic-Con.