Convention Center Gets a Veteran CEO; Japan Airlines Bets Big on San Diego
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The San Diego Convention Center Corporation named Mardeen Mattix as its new President and CEO effective June 24, following a national executive search led by SearchWide Global. Mattix is a nearly twenty-eight-year SDCC veteran who most recently served as Deputy CEO and Chief Financial Officer, succeeding Clifford 'Rip' Rippetoe, who announced his retirement in February after a decade in the role.
Mattix steps into the position with Comic-Con International less than four weeks away — July 23 through 26 — and with the long-discussed Convention Center expansion project still unresolved. Her deep institutional knowledge of the Center's finances and operations is expected to be an asset, though whether she will push the expansion forward aggressively is a question the tourism and hospitality industry will be tracking.
Japan Airlines announced it will increase its nonstop service between San Diego International Airport and Tokyo Narita to daily, year-round flights starting August 1, 2026, up from the current four-times-weekly schedule. The carrier cited a forty-two percent increase in passenger traffic on San Diego-to-Asia routes from 2023 to 2025 as the driver. Tickets are on sale at jal.com.
A forty-two percent passenger increase in two years on a single regional corridor reflects both the growth of San Diego's Asia-Pacific business ties — spanning Qualcomm, the biotech sector, and the defense industry — and expanding direct tourism. The move signals that the market has matured past the old hub-dependency model in which international travelers routed through Los Angeles, with implications for the airport's long-term revenue picture.
In neighborhood-scale development, construction has begun on the Federal Boulevard Pocket Park in City Heights — a 0.85-acre park developed by the City of San Diego and Groundwork San Diego-Chollas Creek as part of the larger Chollas Creek de-channelization and trail project, with completion anticipated in FY2027. City Heights has historically ranked among the most underserved San Diego neighborhoods for green space. The San Diego Blood Bank also issued an urgent call for donations ahead of July Fourth, citing lower-than-needed appointment volume for blood and platelets, with Type O blood and platelets facing the sharpest shortfall. Appointments can be booked at sandiegobloodbank.org or by calling 619-400-8251.