Del Mar's mayor and deputy mayor warned residents that a proposed soccer stadium at the Del Mar Fairgrounds would damage the San Dieguito Lagoon.

Mayor Tracy Martinez and Deputy Mayor John Spelich sent a joint email Thursday, Oct. 15, to several thousand residents using campaign mailing lists, Spelich told The Coast News. They wrote that the San Diego Wave FC's conceptual plan would "have disastrous impacts on the environment, the lagoon, and on Del Mar and neighboring cities."

The letter focused on the south-side layout of the stadium proposal, which would place new structures adjacent to the ecologically sensitive San Dieguito Lagoon. No site plan has been prepared.

The Wave's owners presented the proposal, called Del Mar Dreams, at the Oct. 13 meeting of the 22nd District Agricultural Association (22nd DAA) board, the state-appointed body that oversees the fairgrounds. The conceptual plan includes a 12,000- to 16,000-seat stadium, a 1,300-car parking garage and 350,000 square feet of retail and restaurants. It also calls for a 300-room hotel, a 125,000-square-foot convention center and a tram to a nearby rail line, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.

Presenters emphasized the drawings were preliminary, according to The Coast News.

The Wave asked the board to approve a two-year exclusive negotiating agreement at its Nov. 10 meeting. The 22nd DAA would provide the land, and the Wave's owners and partners would fund construction. Phase 1, targeting a 2031 opening, would include the stadium, parking structure and tram.

Zachary Leichtman-Levine, whose family became majority owners of the National Women's Soccer League club in 2024, told the board the Wave examined "three or four" other sites before choosing the fairgrounds, the Union-Tribune reported.

The stadium proposal lands amid an escalating dispute between Del Mar and the fair board. Also on Oct. 15, Martinez issued a separate letter on official city letterhead. It responded to the fair board's demand that city officials apologize for requesting a criminal investigation into board member Mark Arabo, Seaside Ridge Development adviser and broker Brian Guiltinan and California Attorney General Rob Bonta.

The city's August referral to prosecutors cited concerns about real estate dealings and campaign contributions. In an Oct. 1 letter, San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan declined to bring charges and called the city's referral "very irregular," according to the Union-Tribune. Stephan's office said it could not verify the identity of the original complainant. Arabo denied any interest in Seaside Ridge or communications about the project with Guiltinan or Bonta.

Martinez defended the city's actions, writing that "there has been more interest in the identity of the complainant than determining the legitimacy of the concerns they brought forward."

The dispute ties into Del Mar's push to meet state housing mandates through affordable housing at the fairgrounds. The fair board voted in August to end negotiations with the city over a proposed 61-unit project on the property. If those talks fail to meet state deadlines, the city would have to rezone other sites, including the bluff-top property proposed for Seaside Ridge.

The 22nd DAA board meets next on Nov. 10, when it could vote on the Wave's exclusive negotiating request.