Did we jump the gun? In an exhaustive (yet unscientific) polling of dozens of people in downtown San Diego during the first week of July, we found scant traces of excitement for the upcoming Comic-Con International convention.
Had we inadvertently shot our own foot with a phaser set on stun?
The annual trade show for most of the sci-fi and superhero content shot in Hollywood, or still printed in comic books, will be at the downtown San Diego Convention Center July 24-27. Annually, the show attracts more than 130,000 attendees, with a large percentage of guests cosplaying around the Gaslamp Quarter dressed as their favorite fantasy characters (see photos, below).
Granted, Fourth of July fireworks hadn’t been launched yet and San Diego Pride Week’s rainbow banners were next up on the horizon (July 16-20) when we went querying.
But, do downtowners need the big buildings on Harbor Drive and Fifth Avenue to be wrapped to look like major studio productions before anybody bats an eye?
Apparently. We were looking for folks with any take on The Con – positive or negative. Overwhelming, people on the street were either vastly unaware or unconcerned about it. Several said their kids were probably more informed. Responses were only slightly more focused when we went to Balboa Park to talk to folks outside the Comic-Con Museum.
Angie Velaquez, a visitor from Los Angeles, says Comic-Con isn’t something she’s personally invested in.
“But I’m glad people get a good time out of it,” Velaquez says. “The pro is that it brings in revenue for small businesses and local merchants. However, the con is that there is some traffic and some pollution.”
Andrea Cosio lives in Chula Vista and works in a tourism shop in the Gaslamp Quarter. She also weighed the good and the bad.
“…I feel like there’s going to be a lot of people, so we’ll get more busy,” Cosio says. “People are here for Comic-Con, not really for San Diego tourism. But still, we get busy. There might also be a lot of drunk people, and probably more stealing.”
Colorado resident Aaron Griam hasn’t been to Comic-Con in San Diego but did attend a similar event in Denver.
“It was at this big convention center, with a ton of different people there, Griam says. “There were a lot of different things to see…I didn’t know what to expect, but everybody was having a good time.”
He saw little to no downside to Comic-Con events. “I would say that if you’re not into that kind of stuff, it probably wouldn’t be for you, but for me, personally, I got a lot out of it.”
Born in California and now a resident of Sydney, Australia, Linda Schwartz spoke pragmatically about the effects of Comic-Con.
“The pros are that it brings in a lot of money for local businesses, which really increases local revenue,” Schwartz says. “The con is that it brings in a lot of people, which can be disruptive to the area.”
Finally, we found Kensington resident Grace Lactice. She loves the annual event.
“…It’s getting really crowded, but I love Comic-Con,” Lactice raves. It’s such an awesome event designed to make so many people happy.”
Comic-Con also has a ripple effect on the wider community, not just downtown, says another fan, Central San Diego resident Rick Kale.
“It’s great for the locals, and it’s great for the local economy,” Kale says. “It boosts the hospitality industry, and it brings in crowds to local restaurants and businesses.”
And then, apparently, it disappears to another galaxy for a full revolution of our sun before it returns to become kind of a big deal for a few days. SDSun
[Editor’s note: The San Diego Sun will again, as it has done three past three years, post daily photo essays of the colorful, diverse crowds that swarm the downtown streets during Comic-Con.]
