{Editor's note: The U-T's graphical representation of the JMI Realty plan has been updated to reflect some deleted elements from an earlier version, particularly a proposed observation tower over the San Diego River.]

Breaking a long silence, San Diego State President Elliot Hirshman on Tuesday endorsed turning the Qualcomm Stadium property into a new 166-acre campus.

"Let's dream as a community, knowing that the opportunity to advance the future of our university is before us," Hirshman said in a blog post issued by his office.

He acted even as several hundred alumni and community leaders were receiving a briefing from redevelopment proponents on the plan.

Hirshman said SDSU can't support its current programs on 225-acre Montezuma, where the university has been located since the 1930s.

"We will, most assuredly, need more space for the long-term advancement of our university's programs over the next 50 years," he said.

A plan, presented at the briefing sponsored by SDSU's real estate center and featuring representatives from JMI Realty, Cruzan development, Cisterra Development and Carrier Johnson + Culture architects, was prepared last year and circulated privately before becoming public earlier this year.

It calls for razing Qualcomm Stadium and building student and faculty housing, research and academic space, a hotel and related retail and commercial space. Nearly 40 acres of parkland also are envisioned.

The presenters said the first step should be for the city to donate the property to SDSU and perhaps UC San Diego , and those institutions would then master-plan the project and oversee development.

"These possibilities will, of course, raise many detailed questions," Hirshman said, covering such things as ownership, financing and development partners. "The blunt answer to these questions at this moment is that we don't know. It is, however, time for the communal discussion that will help us find these answers."

The planning team that developed the redevelopment concept independently includes several SDSU alumni who are active in San Diego business circles -- not to mention John Moores, owner of JMI Realty, who has donated millions of dollars to both SDSU and UCSD. JMI President and CEO John Kratzer said it was Moores who laid out the dream of Qualcomm's redevelopment as an academic adjunct to SDSU years ago.

"He literally chewed off my ear over the last five years reminding me in 50 years that nobody would care about where the Chargers play football or whether we build a new convention center," Kratzer said, "but everyone is going to care about our local universities and how we allow them and encourage their growth and prosperity."

The Mission Valley plan predated the Chargers' decision in February to pursue a joint stadium-convention center annex east of Petco Park in downtown's East Village -- and the NFL's decision to approve a Rams stadium in Los Angeles with an option for the Chargers to move there if they can't work out an agreement in San Diego.

In an interview, Hirshman emphasized that he was not endorsing the JMI plan or any other. However, he said the plan has many land-use elements SDSU could endorse, such as low- to-midrise housing densities and an emphasis on transit-oriented development rather than the typical auto-dependent projects that have characterized Mission Valley for decades.

He also noted that what is being called "SDSU West" is not necessarily needed to accommodate a larger student population but rather would be useful in providing more research space, as well as student, faculty and staff housing.

With the Chargers planning a 65,000-seat stadium, SDSU has to decide if it wants to play there, in the current Qualcomm Stadium or build a new, smaller facility of up to 40,000 seats. Hirshman said he needs to compared the economics of renting the new downtown stadium or building its own -- is it cheaper to rent and to own.

"You can't compare something to nothing," he said, and added that he has been in touch with the Chargers periodically but did not mention any plans to meet on the topic in the immediate future.

He cited Temple University's current plans for a $126 million, 30,000-seat stadium in Philadelphia as an example of how the price will figure into SDSU's final decision. Students voted for a $90 fee increase in 1988 to pay for the on-campus Viejas Arena, where Aztec basketball is played, and it's possible the same approach, plus donations and state funding, could cover a new football stadium of 30,000 to 40,000 seats.

Hirshman did not offer an opinion of an alternative by Carrier Johnson architects to build a new stadium within Qualcomm itself and use the perimeter structure for academic offices and classrooms.

As for UC San Diego, Hirshman did say he will call UCSD Chancellor Pradeep Khosla Saturday and discuss the Mission Valley option.

Asked for UCSD's current views on sharing the Mission Valley site with SDSU and perhaps opening an outlet downtown, campus spokesman Jeff Gattas, said, "Like many other educational institutions, UC San Diego is looking for innovative ways to connect with the community beyond the traditional campus footprint. We continue to explore opportunities within San Diego County."

Hirshman also said he has been in touch with University of San Diego President James Harris III about student housing needs at that campus in nearby Linda Vista.

Asked if the Mission Valley option depends on getting the land for free from the city, Hirshman said that is one of many issues to discuss.

"Universities in general are in the business of receiving land, not buying land," he said. "We, of course, would prefer the land be given to us, but I also understand it's part of the discussion."

During the breakfast forum, sponsored by SDSU's Corky McMillin Center for Real Estate, developer Steve Black said his staff's calculations placed the value of the Qualcomm property at a relatively low $50 million, given the $120 million cost of site development and infrastructure needed to support a standard residential/commercial development plan of 7 million square feet. The cost of the campus option has not yet been calculated.

The panel said it will take widespread public support to convince the city to give the property to SDSU -- and that approach, said former state Sen. Steve Peace , D-San Diego, is the way to convince the Legislature to fund development of the property.

"Once we have it, folks listening in Sacramento will have a whole different look," Peace said, compared with asking the state to buy the land from the city.

San Diego City Council President Sherri Lightner did not endorse giving the land without compensation.

"Council President Lightner does not support the donation of such an extremely valuable piece of city property to anyone," said her spokeswoman Jennifer Kearns. "If SDSU and/or UCSD would be interested in talking about joint/shared use and collaborating with the city on redevelopment of the site, that’s another issue, and one that she could potentially support as she has actually made that suggestion for the former downtown library."

Councilman Scott Sherman, whose district includes Mission Valley, said through a spokesman that it is premature to take a stand.

Hirshman said he expects to discuss the redevelopment option with Mayor Kevin Faulconer and to work out a way to explore all options and issues in an as-yet undefined community review process.

"I don't think we would do anything independently with just San Diego State," he said.

Mayoral spokesman Matt Awbrey called the site potential "an exciting opportunity" and endorsed the inclusion of public parkland along the San Diego River, but did not take a stand on land donation.

"This land is owned by the city, so public input will play a significant role for any future development beyond stadium use," Awbrey said.

JMI's Kratzer said he and the other panelists worked on the Mission Valley plan without any anticipation that they would be the developers of the property.

"Ultimately it will be controlled by the universities and stakeholders that buy the land or are given the land and move forward with development plans," he said.

He also said Moores is not actively pursuing a Major League Soccer franchise that could share a new Aztec stadium.

"We have no great aspiration of being involved in any type of stadium that might be built on the site," he said.

The elements of the development plan by JMI and the other players remain the same as previously reported:

3,900 student apartments;

400 faculty housing;

200-room hotel;

630,000 square feet of academic and campus space; and,

200,000 square feet of commercial office space, possibly marketed to high-tech companies linked to campus research.

40 acres of open space and San Diego River Park

The Aztec stadium, if not built within Qualcomm Stadium, would occupy 25.2 acres at the northeast corner of the site and contain 35,000 seats. Garage and at-grade parking would offer 14,760 spaces.

Since parking would generally not be available to many students, the proponents said the overall project would stand as a "poster child" for smart growth, tied to trolley service that already serves the site.

Vincent Mudd, managing partner at Carrier Johnson, also touted the connection to the river.

"That becomes the foundational concept of this plan," he said, "a plan that starts with taking down the stadium and putting up a heartbeat in its place."

Speaking to the forum attendees, he said, "Is it possible, plausible or preferred to think about SDSU West? We think it's something we should all entertain. These are our ideas we have had to date. We welcome your input and your support and letting us know if we are on the right track."

Several attendees supported the plan with one alumnus, Joel Anderson , a teacher at Sweetwater Union High School District, saying it would catapult SDSU into the top ranks of American universities, both academically and athletically.

"It's massive what this is going to do, not just for San Diego State but for the greater San Diego region," he said.