San Francisco Mayor London Breed floats idea of DEMOLISHING Westfield mall in crime-ridden downtown and replacing it with a sports stadium - as she brushes off city's retail apocalypse because 'a lot of people' shop online

Daily Mail UK ^ | June 23, 2023 | Will Potter

[Morgana]

San Francisco Mayor London Breed floated the idea of demolishing the abandoned Westfield mall as a solution to the city's untamed drug and crime epidemic.

Speaking at Bloomberg's Technology Summit in California, Breed brushed off questions about the mall's demise and argued 'there are a lot of people who may not even shop in those places' due to the rise of online shopping.

The city has seen a mass exodus of companies as a result of rampant crime in the city, with Westfield the latest to flee after it announced it has been forced to stop making mortgage payments due to the loss of business.

But Breed took on an optimistic tone as she said the struggling city's abandoned streets could be a silver lining for other businesses.

'You can convert spaces,' she said. 'A Westfield mall could become, you know, something completely different than what it currently is... we could even tear down the whole building and build a whole new soccer stadium.'

San Francisco's Westfield mall stands as the prime example of the city's dramatic fall from grace, where the once-bustling hub is now a drug-infested wasteland.

In 2016, the property was appraised at $1.2 billion, but a stark decline saw the mall hit with years of looting, soft policing and open-air drug taking.

The mall's anchor tenant, Nordstrom, announced it is leaving the location in August. At the time, Westfield blamed 'unsafe conditions' and a 'lack of enforcement against rampant criminal activity' for the departure.

Once Nordstrom leaves the mall, it will be just 55 percent leased.

With the mall now a shell of its former self, Breed was asked how she planned to reverse course and save the dying property.

[Sicon]

"The closing of the Hilton is much more ominous for them. That was the center of the convention business - it’s a massive hotel. It has to be devestating to the tourist business."

I'd say that the rampant crime, abundance of filthy homeless people, open drug use, and the feces and urine all over the place, are more devastating. The closing of the Hilton is just a consequence of the disease.

[mom.mom]

Why wouldn’t you just let the homeless take it over as they have the whole city?

[Ahithophel]

She really is that much of an idiot isn't she?

London Breed has replaced Rice-a-Roni as the San Francisco treat

[PGR88]

So she is proposing a grand venue for bread and circuses, paid for with MASSIVE debt and taxes

Where have I heard that before?

[pfflier]

No one will go to a soccer game with crime up and getting worse.

No one will go to a soccer game anyway.

[cymbeline]

“I struggle to understand how going to a soccer stadium would be any safer.”

More cops and don’t prosecute them for being rude to a thug.

[lee martell]

San Fran area is not that big of a Sports town these days.
Some of the local news shows are in the process of removing the Sports reporter and just having the Anchor give scores in his report.
They are better off inviting charter schools in or renting to eldercare facilities.

[Bobalu]

So many possibilities...

-FEMA death camp
-Housing complex for unaccompanied minor immigrants
-Yet another Amazon distribution warehouse
-World’s largest crack house
-New city park where people can bring the kiddies and walk the dogs......LOL
-Drive in theater... lol, just imagine
-World’s largest WaHo (waffle house)

etc

[AnotherUnixGeek]

'You can convert spaces,' she said. 'A Westfield mall could become, you know, something completely different than what it currently is... we could even tear down the whole building and build a whole new soccer stadium.'

With whose tax money? SF taxpayers are leaving - the addicts crapping in the street aren't going to give up their fentanyl funds to demolish Westfield and build a soccer stadium. And once it gets built, no one else is going to sidestep the needles and feces to go watch a game no one cares about in the US.

[READINABLUESTATE]

Arena Trans-am racing?

[hattend]

How long before the $billion complex is empty — because of the area being crime-ridden?

It will never be empty. The homeless tent city will fill the field.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

I'm surprised she didn't propose to repurpose it as homeless housing. Just buy the Japanese "homeless hotel" plans...

Think how many people such a large building could house!

[realcleanguy]

Exactly. No one wants their cars broken into, and public transportation is unsafe and unsanitary. So who would come to a stadium in San Francisco? The Giants are struggling for attendance now.

[nickcarraway]

B. No one will go to a soccer game with crime up and getting worse.

Corrected:

No one will go to a soccer game with crime up and getting worse.

[nickcarraway]

The thing you have to understand about London Breed is in SF political terms, she is ultraconservative. She feuded with the new breed progressive DA Chesa Boudin. She helped get him booted out of office. So she’s not as insensitive to crime as some of her peers.

[tet68]

Now there’s an idea. Replace a mall everyone is afraid
to go to, with a stadium everyone is afraid to go to !!!

[AlaskaErik]

Maybe they can do midnight basketball there.

[AlaskaErik]

It would just turn into a target rich environment for the criminal element.

[BigFreakinToad]

Team mud sharking

[BigFreakinToad]

Jimmy crack corn