R. SalkowitzFor decades, Balboa Park in San Diego has been home to a sports museum called the San Diego Hall of Champions, where memorabilia ranging from baseball bats to skateboards used in championship contests are on display. According to a report today in the San Diego Union-Tribune, Comic-Con International, the organization that puts on San Diego Comic-Con every summer, will be taking over the space to open a permanent museum to be known as The Comic-Con Center for Popular Culture. And while nerds and cosplayers rejoice, the transition represents another blow to sports culture in San Diego, which recently suffered the departure of its longtime NFL franchise, and bid farewell to the NBA more than two decades ago. Some items will be returned to donors, and the remainder collection will move to Petco Park, home of the San Diego Padres, or to the San Diego History Center. The move comes against the backdrop of ongoing negotiations between CCI and city officials to keep Comic-Con in San Diego beyond the expiration of its current contract in 2018.

Source: Forbes March 23, 2017 18:11 UTC