San Diego Zoo to pay city $3 million a year under new lease agreement

The San Diego City Council on Monday afternoon unanimously approved a 52-year lease extension with the San Diego Zoo in a deal that could generate hundreds of millions of dollars for the city.

Historically, the zoo — which has been in Balboa Park since 1916 — has paid the city zero dollars a year in rent. Under the new deal, the zoo pays $3 million a year, with payments going up each year. The city and zoo will also split revenue from parking 50/50.

The lease extension provides the city with a new revenue stream and gives the zoo some long-term assurances and stability. According to the zoo, conservation is a commitment measured in decades, not years.

“Your vote today will allow our successful relationship to thrive for generations to come and adapt as we prepare for the what the Zoo will look like in the next 50 years,” Adam Day with the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance said. “And this extension gives us the ability to work with our financial institutions to further invest, and deferred maintenance and new capital projects.”

During the meeting Monday afternoon, the public comments were mostly in support of the deal.

“We may be a bit biased, but we start with the proposition that the San Diego Zoo is the crown jewel in the entire city and in face the entire county,” one speaker said. “The proposal before you today aims to keep it so.”

Organizers say the new deal could generate more than $330 million for the city through the end of the lease in 2078.

The zoo has $2.1 billion of economic impact in the region each year.