When live-entertainment powerhouse AEG opened the 19,000-capacity Staples Center in 1999 as the largest indoor concert venue and sports arena in Los Angeles, it became a catalyst in the revitalization of the city’s downtown.

Now, AEG hopes to build a similar state-of-the-art sports and entertainment arena at the site of what is now Seaport Village in downtown San Diego. Like the $375 million Staples Center, the new 18,000-seat arena here could be privately financed.

“We consider San Diego one of the most unique opportunities available in the world today,” said AEG Facilities President Bob Newman. “This presents the opportunity to think about what the next generation for an arena in San Diego might be.”

AEG was brought in as a partner by San Diego development firm OliverMcMillan for its Embarcadero District, one of six proposals being considered by the San Diego Unified Port District to replace the 70-acre Seaport Village, whose lease expires in 2018. (See sidebars below for descriptions of the other proposals and a look at AEG’s global impact.)

AEG (Anschutz Entertainment Group) Founded: 2002 Ownership: Subsidiary of the privately held Anschutz Co., owned by Denver billionaire Philip Anschutz. Events: AEG hosts over 10,000 music and sporting events per year on five continents. Total attendance last year was around 50 million. Value: In 2015, Forbes magazine estimated the value of AEG to be at least $8 billion. Sports: AEG is the world’s largest owner of sports teams, including the Los Angeles Kings hockey team and Los Angeles Galaxy soccer team. Festivals: AEG and its subsidiary Goldenvoice produce festivals around the world, most notably Coachella. The 2015 edition of Coachella drew 98,000 people to Indio for each of its six days, earning a record $84,264,264 in ticket sales alone. San Diego: AEG is a majority shareholder in the lease of Valley View Casino Center and exclusively books the Humphreys Concerts by the Bay series on Shelter Island. It also produces concerts at other venues here.

The port’s staff is scheduled to present an analysis of the proposals to the port district board next week. After a final choice is made and approved by the California Coastal Commission, construction could begin as soon as 2019.

The total cost of the Embarcadero District plan is estimated at $1.4 billion. Zachary Adams, development director for OliverMcMillan, said it would be premature to discuss financing for the project until the port district makes its selection. He said the company “certainly has a financing team in place.”

In addition to the arena, the proposed development would include three hotels with a combined 1,700 rooms, 325,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, 125,000 square feet of office space, a 10,000-square-foot Scripps Institution of Oceanography learning center and a 2,000-square-foot area for educational and outreach activities by the San Diego Symphony.

The plan bears similarities with LA Live, the 5.6 million-square-foot dining and entertainment complex spearheaded by AEG that is adjacent to Staples Center. Since opening in 2007, LA Live has been a popular destination even on days when no concerts or sporting events are held.

“If you’re going to invest hundreds of millions of dollars around an arena, you want as much synergy as possible with restaurants and other attractions to create a nightlife area,” said Gary Bongiovanni, the publisher of Pollstar, a leading concert industry publication. “The Staples Center and LA Live have become a template for AEG’s developments around the world.”

Founded in 2002, AEG has an estimated value of at least $8 billion, according to Forbes magazine. It hosts more than 10,000 music and sporting events per year on five continents, produces Coachella, Stagecoach and other major annual music festivals, and owns or operates venues as far afield as London, Moscow and Shanghai.

“The thing AEG brings to the table is capital,” Bongiovanni said. “When they get involved in a big new arena project like the one being proposed in San Diego, they typically are investing their own money. AEG is not a public company. But its owner, Philip Anschutz, is a billionaire. So if they want to invest $100 million or more in a building project, they have the resources to do that.”

The proposed arena here could draw top musical acts whose recent tours bypassed the Midway District’s 14,400-capacity Valley View Casino Center and SDSU’s 12,500-capacity Viejas Arena, in favor of multiple dates at larger arenas in Los Angeles and Orange County. The most recent tours by U2 and Kanye West, to cite two examples, skipped San Diego. U2 played five shows at the 18,000-seat Forum in Los Angeles, while West did two shows at Staples Center.

Theoretically, the new arena here also could be home to a professional basketball or hockey team. AEG was co-developer, with MGM Resorts International , of the 20,000-capacity T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, which opened at a cost of $375 million in April. Last week, the National Hockey League announced an expansion team will begin playing there this year.

But a San Diego arena could be profitable without a sports tenant, according to Pollstar’s Bongiovanni. He noted that AEG has had success with arenas that only hold concerts and special events.

“They hoped to have a hockey team in Kansas City when they built the (nearly 19,000-capacity) Sprint Center, which opened in 2007,” Bongiovanni said. “No team ever came, and the Sprint Center is doing fine.”

Should OliverMcMillan and AEG move ahead with their plans, it probably would mean the closure of the aging Valley View Casino Center, formerly the San Diego Sports Arena. AEG is the majority shareholder in the lease of the arena, which opened in 1966 and sits on 38 acres of city-owned land.

“Valley View Casino Center is a great arena,” said AEG’s Newman. “We just came off a record year there and anticipate another record year in 2016. But the reality is, it’s almost 50 years old, and at some point, it will end its useful life. That’s not a negative, just a reality.”

OliverMcMillan’s Adams was circumspect when asked if the company had an interest in redeveloping the Valley View Casino Center site.

“Obviously, it’s not an available project at this time, so it’s kind of difficult to comment now,” he said. “But, of course, we are a company local to San Diego and care about development here.”

Craig Gustafson, director of media relations for San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer , declined to comment, saying the city couldn’t discuss hypotheticals.

As envisioned by OliverMcMillan and AEG, the new arena could also host private events and conferences, serving as an adjunct to the nearby San Diego Convention Center, whose hopes for expansion are not currently matched by a clear path.

“I think building a new arena is something San Diego needs to do to stay competitive,” said Pollstar’s Bongiovanni.

“As a market you’ve been bypassed by Las Vegas. When a superstar artist can only play 30 tour dates around the nation, the advantage usually goes to the city with a newer, shiny arena, in a market, of course, that supports them.”

AEG’s Newman heartily readily agreed with that assessment.

“The size restrictions (of the current arenas in San Diego) does impact the size of tours that route through San Diego,” he said. “It is purely an issue of the physical size with the capacity of Valley View Casino Center. And we feel strongly a larger arena will bring San Diego significantly more major shows than it is getting today...

“We would certainly look at having skin in the game on this project. We truly believe in San Diego today, and the great potential of San Diego, down the road and we’d like to invest in it.”

The other redevelopment proposals

The Embarcadero District is one of six proposals submitted to the San Diego Unified Port District for the redevelopment of Seaport Village. Here are summaries of some of the elements in the five proposals submitted by other developers:

Celebration Place (718,000 square feet, $700 million cost, Manchester Financial Group and Dealy Development): Includes 500-room hotel, 2,000-seat performing arts hall, 400-foot gondola ride, 200,000 square feet of new retail.

Ripley’s Aquarium of California Size (111,000 square feet, up to $150 million, Ripley Entertainment): Includes 750,000-gallon shark tank, 50,000-gallon tank featuring coastal California marine life.

SeaPort (1.2 million square feet, cost unknown, McWhinney and DJM Capital Partners): Includes 1,000 rooms in three hotels, 25,000-square-foot performance venue.

Seaport San Diego: (1.3 million square feet, $1 billion, Protea Waterfront Development): Includes 1,077 rooms in three hotels, aquarium, 388,625 square feet of retail and restaurant space, a large aquarium.

Tuna Harbor Pavilion (150,000 square feet, $130 million, Great Western Pacific and Santa Monica Seafood): Includes 200-foot “San Diego Great Wheel,” rides, restaurants.

george.varga@sduniontribune.com