Comic-Con 2017 Kicks Off!

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The world’s largest entertainment convention made its return to San Diego this Thursday.
The 2017 edition of the San Diego Comic-Con International officially began kicked off Thursday morning, setting forth four days of fun and pop culture for the over 130,000 fans expected to attend from all over the world.
However, Wednesday afternoon saw the convention’s unofficial start with Comic-Con’s preview night, which allows four-day attendees who also purchased the additional Preview Night pass to get a head start on shopping for collectibles and collecting swag.
On Wednesday, fans had also began to camp out on the lawn south of the Convention Center for the privilege of being able get the first ever look at the blockbuster movie previews and attending panels held inside Hall H.
This year, some of the most sought-after seats inside Hall H are for panels for upcoming films such as Marvel’s “Black Panther”, “Blade Runner 2049”, Netflix’s original Production “Bright”, and the upcoming Justice League movie, among many others.
As has become tradition, there will be many off-site events scattered throughout downtown during the convention as well. Many favorites such as the NIntendo Lounge at the Marriott Marina Resort and Cartoon Network’s fan zone at the New Children’s Museum will be two of many attractions for those left outside of Comic-Con this year.
ROOM TO GROW?
The ever elusive attendee badges, which grant single-day or four-day entry, were sold out near immediately in 2017 once again, keeping Comic-Con’s near 10-year streak of selling out going strong.
With the annual event at capacity for several years now, expansion of the San Diego Convention Center has become a central theme in the conversation surrounding Comic-Con and its future downtown.
Dating back to 2009, there have been talks about the convention leaving San Diego for a city with a larger convention space and competitive hotel room rates. Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Anaheim are the three cities commonly cited as being the next home for Comic-Con.
WonderCon, Comic-Con’s sister convention, was held in San Francisco from 1987 through 2011, until it moved to Anaheim due to a need for larger convention space.
In June of this year, the City Council voted down a special election in November which would have included an item to expand the Convention Center, which helped keep Comic-Con in town.
Weeks later, Mayor Faulconer announced an agreement between the City and Comic-Con to keep the convention in town until 2021, extending the convention’s deal which was set to end in 2018 for another three years.
City leaders hope that local voters approve expansion of the Convention Center before the 2021 agreement with Comic-Con runs out.