San Diego Comic-Con announces deal with city to stay in SD till 2021 (UPDATED)

UPDATED: thanks to our friends at 10News San Diego, the livestream from outside the San Diego Convention Centre (hey, I’ve slept there!) hosted Mayor Falconer and CCI Director Of Media Relations David Glanzer, confirming that the city and Comic-Con International have signed an agreement for SDCC to stay in San Diego through 2021.

The arrangement that Comic-Con International has with the city of San Diego has always been a fluid one: contracts are usually signed over three or four-year timeframes (the current contract in place has SDCC staying in town through till 2018). The constant to-and-fro with the city’s hotels, the battle for space with the San Diego Convention Centre and surrounding venues, the regular courting from other cities… all of which has lead people to constantly speculate that the organisation could up sticks and vacate the city of its origin.

Today, however, it is reported by San Diego 10News that Comic-Con International will be announcing today a new arrangement for the convention to stay a little longer, with both CCI and San Diego City Reps “working on a deal to keep [Comic-Con] here thru 2021”.

#ComicCon & SD City reps making a "major announcement" today. @10news has reported the 2 sides working on a deal to keep it here thru 2021.

— Jason Martinez (@10NewsJason) June 30, 2017

UPDATE: we have an announcement time.

Mayor, @Comic_Con officials to make "major" announcement this morning at 8 a.m. https://t.co/7ITT5HeDEV

— 10News (@10News) June 30, 2017

This kind of announcement usually comes from a location close by the Convention Center, usually organised by the Mayors Office or Comic-Con International themselves, so we’ll be keeping a close eye on both to see what gets arranged later in the day. Watch this space…