Listen
Explore fragmentation, institutional needs and new sources of value.
BALBOA PARK ECONOMIC FUTURE VISION
What if Balboa Park
powered sustainable
growth for San Diego?
Many institutions. One extraordinary place.
A shared future, built together.
CULTURE · COMMUNITY · POSSIBILITYSAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA
02 / PROCESS · THE JOURNEY
Listen first.
Imagine together.
From stakeholder conversations to global reference models and tangible digital concepts. This recap brings the work together for the next decision.
Find common ground
Test emerging opportunities against impacts on institutions and public space.
Make it tangible
Compare global models and develop two interactive experience concepts.
Agree a pilot
Confirm a coordinating mandate, participating partners and measures of success.
PROCESS · THE POWER OF COMING TOGETHER
Great futures start
with people.
DDX is a global think tank with innovation communities in Tokyo, Dubai, Munich, New York, San Diego and London.
DDX San Diego 2026 brought together 350 people. Together with BCCA, we put the community’s creativity and ideas to work for Balboa Park’s future.
The wider DDX’26 gathering welcomed leaders from Adobe, Google, IDEO, Netflix and Webflow, alongside future-minded thinkers including Don Norman.
Explore the DDX San Diego recap
PROCESS · HEAR INSIGHTS AND PERSPECTIVES
Hear from the people
shaping the park’s future.
Perspectives from institutions, community builders and public entities involved in making Balboa Park future-ready.
Affiliations represented across interviews and project conversations, including an emeritus academic affiliation. Logos do not attribute individual quotations or imply organizational endorsement.
14 perspectives on shared possibilities, collaboration and the park’s potential.
Anonymous participantPROJECT INTERVIEW
“Balboa Park could become known as the place where conferences happen.”
On positioning Balboa Park as a conference destination
Interview takeawayEDITORIAL PARAPHRASE
Forever Balboa Park could help bring institutions together around shared opportunities, with a clear coordinating role and the support to deliver it.
On supporting a shared coordinating role
Interview takeawayEDITORIAL PARAPHRASE
Shared events can create a positive cycle: bringing people together while reinvesting in the public spaces that make those experiences possible.
On connecting event income with care for shared spaces
Anonymous participantPROJECT INTERVIEW
“The park is one that everybody loves.”
On the shared affection for Balboa Park
Anonymous participantPROJECT INTERVIEW
“If there's a good way to structure the event where it generates enough revenue to cover our expenses, that would be fantastic.”
On covering an institution’s costs when hosting a shared event
Interview takeawayEDITORIAL PARAPHRASE
The park’s gathering spaces offer an opportunity for distinctive programming that gives people more reasons to come together.
On bringing shared gathering spaces to life
Anonymous participantPROJECT INTERVIEW
“So I think where there are opportunities to utilize the interior and exterior and blur the line of what interior and exterior is, those would be great.”
On creating events across indoor and outdoor spaces
Anonymous participantPROJECT INTERVIEW
“I think a unified strategy towards revenue generation and revenue sharing makes a lot of sense.”
On a park-wide approach to income and revenue sharing
Anonymous participantPROJECT INTERVIEW
“And then there would need to probably be some kind of campaign to make people, especially event managers and those destination management companies to be more aware of it.”
On marketing the park to event organizers
Anonymous participantPROJECT INTERVIEW
“A lot of people love living near the park and they look at it as their community park.”
On preserving the park’s role in everyday community life
Anonymous participantPROJECT INTERVIEW
“This is a great way place to do a big outdoor indoor event that utilizes both facilities and this shared space between them. That would be fabulous to do.”
On an event connecting two museums across their shared plaza
Anonymous participantPROJECT INTERVIEW
“So a better integrated experience would be better overall.”
On connecting indoor cultural experiences and outdoor public space
Anonymous participantPROJECT INTERVIEW
“Look, if it's revenue neutral for us and someone does an event, great.”
On protecting institutions financially when another organizer hosts
Anonymous participantPROJECT INTERVIEW
“Having those pieces together and having someone who would be actually marketing them would be phenomenal.”
On jointly marketing institution and plaza event packages
Interview excerpts and clearly labeled editorial paraphrases; 14 cards do not represent 14 participants. Paraphrases summarize the opportunity in constructive language and are not verbatim quotations. Context captions are editorial summaries. Abstract blurred silhouettes are illustrations, not participant photographs. Names and identifying roles are withheld.
PROCESS · GLOBAL RESEARCH & INSIGHTS
Different places.
Shared possibilities.
Parks, cultural campuses and public spaces.
A global perspective on coming together.
Lincoln Park
Photo: Lincoln Park Conservancy ↗
MuseumsQuartier
Photo: MuseumsQuartier ↗
South Bank
Photo: Southbank Centre ↗
Fed Square
Photo: Fed Square ↗
Lincoln Center
Photo: Lincoln Center ↗EXPLORE THE PLACES Selected places featured in the research below
Connection is
an operating model.
Shared events can bring institutions and public space together into a new commercial offer. The benchmarks show how governance, coordination and institutional incentives can support that offer.
🇺🇸 BALBOA PARK · SAN DIEGO
01Shared space means shared consequences.
Attendance, access, setup and parking connect events even when their organizers operate independently.
PROJECT INTERVIEW SYNTHESIS🇺🇸 LINCOLN PARK · CHICAGO
02A coordinator needs a mandate.
Lincoln Park suggests a useful division of responsibility: public authority, stewardship and institutional programming remain distinct.
BENCHMARK INTERPRETATION
🇺🇸 CENTRAL PARK · NEW YORK
03Public discovery is only half the picture.
Central Park documented an internal weekly event calendar and an operational meeting rhythm. A public event listing alone does not establish shared planning.
DOCUMENTED PRACTICE · 2016 GUIDE
🇺🇸 BALBOA PARK · SAN DIEGO
04Participation must create value.
Protect existing business, make coordination simpler and share incremental opportunity. Institutions should retain control over their own events.
INTERVIEW SYNTHESIS + PROPOSED PRINCIPLEPROCESS · EVENT ECONOMICS
Events can fund the park.
Winter Village revenue: skating activities, holiday-market royalties, hospitality and sponsorship. Reported event expenses: $12.56m; the $5.67m difference is before wider organizational costs.
Seasonal destination model · Audited accounts ↗Event income across the parks portfolio, including BST Hyde Park and Winter Wonderland. Events help fund everyday park operations. This is operator income, not profit or total visitor spending.
Event-hosting model · Annual report ↗Verified event-income precedents, not evidence of cross-institution revenue sharing. Lincoln Park Chicago remains a governance comparator; Balboa’s partner model needs a pilot.
WHAT WOULD IT TAKE AT BALBOA?
Work backward from
the net contribution.
An illustrative $1m annual contribution would require:
Scenario arithmetic, not a forecast or a confirmed funding gap. “Net contribution” here means income retained after production, institutional payments, permits, mitigation and allocated coordination overhead. Validate demand, capacity, costs and revenue rights in a paid pilot.
THE RESEARCH · OCTOBER 2026
Ideas travel.
Possibilities grow.
Global models. Local opportunities.
The complete project presentation.
03 / IDEAS · FUTURE BUSINESS CONCEPTS
One opportunity
will not be enough.
A portfolio of possibilities, led by shared events that connect institutions and public space. These are concepts to evaluate, not approved projects or promised revenue.
Shared events: inbound & coordination
Attract event inquiries, then let Forever Balboa Park connect institutions, plazas and gardens into one coordinated offer. Discovery, newsletters and the shared calendar support the same business model.
01 / ATTRACTDiscovery, newsletter
& lead generation
& lead generation
02 / CONNECTMulti-institution
event packages
event packages
03 / COORDINATEShared calendar
& event coordination
& event coordination
The vision below brings these three capabilities together.
Potential income: agreed event-coordination fees and partner arrangements. One journey: discover → inquire → coordinate → deliver.Food, beverage & concessions
Explore complementary hospitality that improves the visit and contributes to the park.
Requires operator economics, authority and institutional impact checks.Parking that supports the experience
Evaluate access, pricing and mobility together, including effects on normal institutional visitation.
Assess net yield after operating costs, access measures and impacts.A hotel in Balboa Park?
Explore a hotel as a long-term concept: a place to stay for cultural visits, conferences and multi-day events, with potential lease or concession income for the park.
Concept only. Test location, public benefit, planning permissions, investment and operating viability.Membership, philanthropy & partnerships
Offer clear ways to support park-wide value while respecting existing institutional donor relationships.
Potential: recurring support and clearly attributed sponsorship.A digital stage for the park
Explore an LED installation for cultural programming, wayfinding and suitable sponsors.
Validate capital cost, permissions, content, accessibility and net income.Funding the common ground
Explore maintenance contributions, shared services and dedicated public funding alongside earned income.
Public funding and donations are distinct from commercial revenue.IDEAS · FEEDBACK & DESIGN CONDITIONS
The signal is promising.
The conditions matter.
Make it easier to participate.
Project conversations support simpler permitting and a clearer front door. A coordination service can guide a request; legal approvals remain with the responsible authority.
Protect the institutions.
Interview accounts describe both successful shared events and disruption from large outdoor events. Assess access, normal attendance and neighboring operations before confirming a plan.
Start with a win–win threshold.
Revenue-neutral is a minimum principle to test. Agree cost allocation, mitigation and incremental benefit with affected institutions.
Fund the coordinating capacity.
Forever Balboa Park emerged as a potential coordinating entity. That requires an agreed scope, staffing and budget; the mandate is a proposal to confirm.
Synthesis of project interview and discussion records. These conditions do not imply institutional endorsement of every concept.
04 / VISION · IMAGINE THE POSSIBILITIES
A vision: Culture. Nature.
People. Together.
Imagine a destination for conferences, exhibitions and shared cultural events — connecting institutions with the spaces between them.
For landmark ideas.Outdoor business and design summit · AI concept rendering · Not an approved event
meets the city.Business innovation exhibition · AI concept rendering · Not an approved event
that go further.Conference networking reception · AI concept rendering · Not an approved event
A thousand ways to connect.Park-wide cultural festival · AI concept rendering · Not an approved event
people together.Open-studio gathering · AI concept rendering · Not an approved event
new connections.Open-air benefit dinner · AI concept rendering · Not an approved event
the stars.Outdoor cinema evening · AI concept rendering · Not an approved event
our community.Cultural night market · AI concept rendering · Not an approved event
Shared wonder.Outdoor discovery festival · AI concept rendering · Not an approved event
VISION · THREE CAPABILITIES, ONE EXPERIENCE
Make the park
an extraordinary
place to come together.
Three capabilities.
One shared event vision.
Discovery attracts demand. Forever Balboa Park connects partners. The calendar supports delivery.
THREE CAPABILITIES · ONE VISION
One connected
event ecosystem.
Attract demand. Connect institutions and shared spaces.
Coordinate events that create value together.
Select the three capabilities to bring the vision together.
Imagine Forever Balboa Park bringing institutions together to create a shared event: a conference, cultural festival or evening experience spanning a plaza, museum spaces and gardens.
Forever Balboa Park could turn incoming inquiries into shared event proposals, convene the partners and coordinate delivery. Institutions contribute on agreed terms, the City authorizes use of public space, and the event generates shared value.
One front door for event inquiries.
Use discovery, event inspiration and the newsletter to position Balboa Park as an event destination. Capture the organizer’s needs, preferred dates and budget.
Connect the spaces and teams.
Coordinate permits, venue access, setup, traffic and neighboring programs. The shared calendar supports delivery of the event business.
Make the economics work for everyone.
Build income from event fees, tickets or sponsorship as appropriate. Agree costs, institutional payments and the park contribution before confirming the event.
THE NEXT STEP: A LIMITED PILOT
Agree the mandate with the City, FBP and volunteer institutions. Co-create one paid shared event. Track total income, delivery costs, net park contribution and the benefit to each participating institution before expanding.
VISION · EXPLORE THE EXPERIENCES
See how it
could feel.
FOR VISITORS & EVENT ORGANIZERSReimagine
Reimagine
discovery.
Find what’s on. Explore places.
Start an extraordinary event.
FOR THE PARK TEAM & INSTITUTIONSReimagine
Reimagine
coordination.
A shared calendar. Place-based planning.
Institutional control.
AI-generated lifestyle visuals. Interactive concepts with sample data. Neither experience is a live booking or permitting service.
“We’re proud to partner with BCCA to envision a more economically sustainable Balboa Park. Its heritage and extraordinary setting offer an opportunity to innovate and drive economic growth—bringing everyone’s ideas together in one shared vision.”
Sebastian GierFounder, DDX