Daily Business Report/Dec. 12, 2016
View of Qualcomm Stadium at a previous Holiday Bowl. This year’s 39th annual Holiday Bowl will be Dec. 27 with Washington State vs Minnesota. (Photo courtesy of the Holiday Bowl)
New Study: Economic Impact of College
Football Bowl Games Put at $1.5 Billion
SDSU Newscenter
A new report puts the economic impact of the nation’s 41 college football bowl games at $1.5 billion annually. The study, conducted by researchers at San Diego State University’s Payne School of Hospitality and Tourism Management and George Washington University, was commissioned by the Football Bowl Association.
The researchers measured the economic impact of postseason college football games the end of the 2015 season. Because the size and number of fans vary so widely from one game to the next, the analysis divided the games into four categories: the New Year’s Six; Power Five versus Power Five; Power Five versus Group of Five; and Group of Five versus Group of Five.
The average economic impact ranged from more than $93.7 million for the New Year’s Six matchups, including the games that made up the College Football Playoff, to more than $12.6 million for the 13 games matching schools from the Group of Five, teams made up of the smaller athletic conferences.
“Among the different groupings, the findings were very consistent and show that there is a significant economic impact on host cities especially where the bigger games are played,” said Carl Winston, program director of SDSU’s Payne School of Hospitality and Tourism Management. “It also shows that the FBA is pretty savvy about picking the teams.”
The report titled “The Economic Impact of College Bowl Games” examined the data carefully with the goal to tell the story of the bowl games in a more credible way.
“We spent a lot of time going through the methodology of all the studies and data we collected to ensure consistency,” said co-author Lisa Delpy Neirotti, director of the Master of Tourism Administration program at George Washington University. “We tried to be as consistent and conservative as we could. We’d rather go more conservative. That was our guiding mission.”
One important distinction of the report was the way economic impact was defined.
“We defined it as money that comes into that local economy that wouldn’t have come into it otherwise,” said Mark Testa, professor in SDSU’s School of HTM, which regularly conducts economic impact studies for a variety of events, including the Holiday Bowl and Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego.
As a result, the purchase of a ticket by someone living in the area was not considered a reflection of the economic impact.
The study sought non-local spectators who made a trip to each area with the specific purpose of attending the bowl game. The data collection was done through an electronic survey or by trained interviewers. Spectators were asked to supply information that included confirming that the game was the main reason for their travel, if they were staying in a hotel, how many nights they were there, the daily rate, and their average spending on food, shopping and entertainment.
By creating different levels to analyze, the study was able to determine that the percentage of lodging costs rose with the size of the event. Spectators at games between Group of Five schools, the smallest category, spent 23 percent on lodging. Fans who attended New Year’s Six games spent 37 percent on lodging.
Winston said the difference was a combination of higher daily rates and longer stays. He pointed out that the New Year’s Six games on New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day would give spectators a chance to stay for an extra night to celebrate the holiday.
“What we thought would happen did happen,” Winston said of the report. “It confirmed our instincts.”
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Sails Pavilion Renovation Heads List
Of San Diego Convention Center Upgrades
Renovation of the Sails Pavilion at the San Diego Convention Center heads a list of upgrades that will be launched beginning this month and financed by a $25.5 million state loan.
The Sails Pavilion work is the most recognizable of the projects. The sails have been a signature symbol of the center since it opened in 1989.
The upgrades will start with the replacement of the pavilion’s concrete floors. New concrete will be poured over the 108,450-square-foot space. The old concrete will be recycled. The budgeted cost is about $3.6 million. The work is expected to continue through the end of February 2017.
In the summer of 2017, the fabric on the famous white sails roof structure will be replaced. During this work, San Diego residents will see sections of the sails removed for the first time in 26 years.
“The exciting announcement of our renovations represents months of creative teamwork,” saidPresident and CEO Clifford “Rip” Rippetoe. “These efforts are a result of the city of San Diego and our staff and board of directors collaborating on financing, procurement and scheduling to uphold the status of the San Diego Convention Center as the region’s premiere gathering place.”
In June 2016, the San Diego Convention Center announced the approval of a state loan totaling $25.5 million that will finance eight projects. The loan, co-signed by the city of San Diego, is the largest ever approved by the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank. The IBank program was created to finance infrastructure that promotes a healthy climate for jobs, contribute to a strong economy and improve the quality of life in California communities.
“This historic investment is possible because the State of California, the city of San Diego and the convention center staff and board of directors all came together to create a responsible funding plan that will pave the way for significant improvements of the facility,” said Laurie Coskey, chair of the board of directors.
Several other projects are on the horizon such as modernizing the multitude of escalators, installing new cooling towers and replacing the building’s fire alarm systems. Although these major upgrades are being referenced together as one major renovation effort in the coming months, maintaining the building has been ongoing, officials said. Some improvement projects have already been in progress such as converting the entire exhibit floor lights to LEDs, upgrading restrooms and renovating elevators.
In fiscal year 2016, the San Diego Convention Center hosted 824,276 guests and 158 events
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BAE Welcomes Largest
Drydock in California
A new 950-foot-long, 55,000-long-ton floating dry dock arrived at BAE Systems’ San Diego shipyard last week, part of the company’s $100 million investment in the yard to service the anticipated increase of U.S. Navy ships on the West Coast.
The new floating dry dock arrived at the company’s shipyard Thursday towed by the ocean-going and salvage tug Posh Terasea Eagle. Over the next two months, the BAE Systems team will complete final assembly, installation, testing, and certification of the dry dock, which will be operational in early 2017.
The first ship to be serviced in the dry dock will be the San Diego-homeported amphibious transport dock ship USS New Orleans.
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Pristine Environments to Integrate Robotic
Cleaning Technology Into Clients’ Facilities
Pristine Environments, a facilities management company, announced that it will be integrating autonomous robotic cleaning technology into its clients’ facilities through a partnership with San Diego-based Brain Corp., a Qualcomm Ventures-backed company. Pristine clients include BAE Systems, Scripps, Takeda, CBRE and many more.
The San Diego Regional EDC played matchmaker on the deal. When EDC’s economic development manager Jesse Gipe heard Brain Corp. was looking to pilot its robotic cleaning technology, he knew the right partner was in San Diego. He introduced them to Pristine Environments, an EDC investor in the facilities management space, to see if they would be open to getting this new technology into the hands of their clients. Pristine Environments has clients all over the country, but is headquartered in San Diego.
Brain Corp. is a software technology company specializing in the development of autonomous artificial intelligence systems for self-driving vehicles. Its newly-launched, self-driving industrial floor-cleaning machine called EMMA will be used in Pristine Environments’ client locations throughout the country.
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Illumina Announces Program to Identify
Undiagnosed Rare Diseases in Children
Illumina Inc. announced the iHope program, a philanthropic initiative aimed at identifying the genetic causes of undiagnosed rare diseases in children.
With initial program partners Foundation for the Children of the Californias, Rare Genomics Institute and UCSF Banioff Children’s Hospital San Francisco, selected patients in financial need will receive clinical whole-genome sequencing performed by the Illumina Clinical Services Laboratory.
Through whole-genome sequencing — the process of determining the order of all the DNA in a person’s body — Illumina and the iHope program partners strive to end years-long diagnostic odysseys of unnecessary and inconclusive testing for these children and their families.
Global Genes estimates that there are as many 30 million individuals in the US with a rare disease, 80 percent of which is genetic in origin. The iHope program was created out of an awareness of the challenges facing patients with rare and undiagnosed genetic diseases and their families – many of whom face financial hardship and are not otherwise able to access next-generation sequencing-based testing.
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Nomad Donuts Invites Public to Site
Of New Store Set to Open in 2017
Nomad Donuts plans to open a new store — its second — in North Park in spring 2017 and is inviting the public to a pre-opening party on Tuesday that also will benefit the David’s Harp Foundation.
The party will be from 6 to 9 p.m. at the site of the new store at 3102 University Ave. Guests can enjoy donuts, drinks, live music and mingling.
During the free-to-attend evening, guests can purchase donuts at only $2 each including the purple-hued ube taro donut (a longtime fan favorite since Nomad Donuts’ initial opening in 2014), coffee maple, haupia custard-filled, jam-filled and a special cotton candy-topped donut in collaboration with Get Fluffed Up. Guests can also view the 3,100-square-foot space and early floor plans for the new shop, and sip pours of local craft beers from Fall Brewing.
More than half the night’s earnings will benefit the nonprofit David’s Harp Foundation, which empowers at-risk and homeless youth to achieve academic success through music education, sound engineering and multimedia production.
“We’ve always been involved in the community and are looking forward to this event. The building is a landmark of North Park and through holding this open house event we’re going to give the community a glimpse of the before and after while benefiting a great cause,” said Brad Keiller, owner of Nomad Donuts. “The David’s Harp Foundation is so important, because youth are our future. By taking action to support these kids we are simultaneously shaping our future.”
“It always amazes me when neighborhood businesses give of their time and products to support our students,” said David’s Harp Foundation Founder Brandon Steppe. “Brad and Nomad Donuts have been partnering with us for more than a year now, donating donuts to support our students’ events. Nomad Donuts is not just a business. They are a neighbor whose actions demonstrate their care for the underserved youth of our community.”
Nomad Donuts’ second location will be an expanded and evolved version of its original 670-square-foot shop on 30th Street near Normal Heights.
At its 2017 opening, fans will be able to enjoy Nomad’s donuts and coffee alongside new additions like house-made Montreal style bagels, sandwiches, beer, wine and a pop-up savory and sweet bakery section. Given more square footage, Nomad Donuts’ second location will offer indoor and outdoor seating and will stay open all day.
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SMARTS Farm Holiday Open House
On Dec. 17, SMARTS Farm will celebrate its Holiday Open House at its new home in East Village — the corner of 13th Street and Broadway (1326 Broadway).
The free event will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Activities will include:
- Wreath making for youngsters and adults
- Family planning and learning about bugs, soil and seeds
- Holidy tree decorating
- Exploring the Community Gardens
- Hot cocoa and complimentary treats
Although the event is free to attend, a $5 donation is suggested for family participation.
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North San Diego Business Chamber
Partners with InnoVision for Marketing
The North San Diego Business Chamber has partnered with InnoVision Marketing Group, an advertising agency specializing in marketing, brand and media strategies, to lead a targeted marketing campaign for North San Diego Tourism in late February 2017.
“Our partnership with Innovision Marketing Group is the culmination of a long-term relationship that has grown through trust and creativity. We are confident Innovision can work with us in meeting our chamber members’ goals of driving visitors to the North San Diego region through targeted marketing strategies,” said Debra Rosen, president and CEO for the Business Chamber.
“As a member, we know how important the Business Chamber is to all businesses in the region and we are honored to be named their agency of record,” said Ric Militi, InnoVision CEO and executive creative director.
North San Diego is an amazing destination. It has so much to offer locals and tourists – there truly is something for everyone. We look forward to raising its awareness level and working with one of San Diego’s most prestigious organizations,” said Ric Militi, InnoVision CEO & Executive Creative Director.
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Personnel Announcements
Gregg Foster Joins Fident Capital
Fident Capital, a San Diego real estate investment bank, has named Gregg Foster as a managing director.
Foster has an extensive background in finance, acquisition, entitlement and disposition of real estate in all asset classes, as well as consulting in the distressed asset and business turnaround arenas totaling more than $1.2 billion in value over the course of his career.
Foster began his career in commercial banking with Wells Fargo Bank. In 1999, he entered the homebuilding industry where he went on to hold high-level management roles encompassing the greater Southern California marketplace for John Laing Homes, Steadfast Companies, William Lyon Homes, and Sabal Financial Group.
Prior to joining Fident, Foster founded Halifax Group, a multi-disciplinary real estate consulting and development company, where he executed asset management and disposition projects valued in excess of $400 million on behalf of builder/developers, banking institutions, court appointed receivers, and equity providers for more than 10 years.
