Comic-Con Will Stay in San Diego Through 2018

Despite frequent talk of moving Comic-Con International: San Diego to more accommodating locales like Los Angeles, Anaheim, and Las Vegas, it looks like the ultimate pop culture event has signed a contract allowing it to stay put in its home of 45 years through 2018, as reported by Deadline.

The new deal gives SDCC a flat rate to inhabit the San Diego Convention Center and insures that area hotels will not spike their prices for out-of-town attendees.

San Diego’s Mayor Kevin Falconer made the announcement on Twitter:

I’m proud to announce this morning that @Comic_Con will stay in San Diego through 2018. #SDCC

— Kevin Faulconer (@Kevin_Faulconer) July 2, 2015

At a press conference soon after, Falconer stated, “If you still don’t understand how much Comic-Con means to San Diego, more Superman means more super-streets, more light sabers means more library hours, and more Comic-Con means more neighborhood services for San Diegans.”

Originally founded in 1970 as the Golden State Comic Book Convention, the annual gathering of comic book fans has become increasingly media-centric with Hollywood studios bringing TV and film stars for lavish presentations and sneak peeks. In 2004, these major panels expanded to the San Diego Convention Center’s 6,500-seat Hall H, with Comic-Con International attendance shooting from 95,000 to well over 130,000 as of 2014. The economic impact of the four-day event to the San Diego region is in the neighborhood of $200 million annually. 

This year’s Con will be taking place from Thursday July 8 through Sunday July 12 at the San Diego Convention Center, and we’ll will be covering all the major panels, so stay tuned to our Comic-Con Hub for our up-to-the-minute coverage of all things SDCC!