TwitchCon Starts Five-Year Run in San Diego

SAN DIEGO – It’s game on next month when TwitchCon 2024 starts the first of a five-year run at the San Diego Convention Center.

TwitchCon, the emerging show that began in San Francisco in 2015 and is rising in prominence within the gaming and streaming sector, will welcome thousands of online gamers, streamers, e-sports aficionados, content creators and fans of the video streaming platform Twitch to San Diego.

The Convention Center will host this year’s TwitchCon from Sept. 20-22.

A semi-annual event that was held this past June in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. TwitchCon was previously in San Diego in 2019 and 2022, when 30,000 Twitch account holders participated. In 2023, TwitchCon was held in Paris in July and it was in Las Vegas last October.

“San Diego was a clear favorite for our community, and the feedback we’ve received from attendees led us to make it a recurring home for TwitchCon until 2028. This continuity allows our community to fully immerse themselves in all that San Diego has to offer while enabling Twitch to cultivate lasting relationships in the area,” said Rachel Delphin, Twitch’s chief marketing officer. 

“We are also grateful to the Convention Center and the San Diego Tourism Authority for making the decision to return an easy one. The location is beautiful and convenient for both local fans and the thousands of attendees and participants coming in from around the world. We’re looking forward to bringing our community together in San Diego for another incredible TwitchCon.”

Juan Reyes, director of government and community affairs for the San Diego Convention Center Corporation, said this year’s show will likely welcome another 30,000 attendees.

San Diego Convention Center Corporation President and CEO Rip Rippetoe said the event will include more than19,000 room nights in local hotels and said the event is expected to generate more than $73 million in economic impact to the region. 

And it’s only the beginning

“Over the next five years, TwitchCon is projected to grow each year in attendance and regional economic impact metrics,” Rippetoe said. “We predict that TwitchCon will be among the top five events in terms of attendance for each of its upcoming years in San Diego, 2024 to 2028.”

Tiffany Peng, of Twitch’s corporate communications group, said that TwitchCon remains an economic boon for San Diego given the number of attendees.

She said that 56% of current ticket purchasers are first time TwitchCon attendees and that current ticket purchasers are from 72 countries and all 50 states. Peng also said that 70% of current ticket purchasers are from outside of California with 96% from outside the San Diego area.

Event Details and Highlights

The event will have more than 200 sessions, including 15 sessions on the main stage to include a keynote talk from Twitch CEO Dan Clancy.

A highlight of the 2024 event – and one that will be outside of the Convention Center — is the TwitchCon Block Party from 7 to 10 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 21. Food vendors, live music, themed photo ops, escape rooms, karaoke and more are expected to draw TwitchCon attendees to the adjacent Gaslamp District.

Participating restaurants include Cafe Sevilla, Rockin’ Baja Coastal Cuisine, The Old Spaghetti Factory, Provisional Kitchen and Olala Crepes. Businesses taking part in the block party include The Wine Bank, Find Your Feet and Off the Bench.

The soiree has been planned by Restaurant Events, a site selection and event coordination group.

Michael Trimble, executive director of the Gaslamp Quarter Association, the nonprofit merchants group established in 1982 that represents more than 400 businesses in the Gaslamp Quarter, said the GQA group has been working hard preparing for TwitchCon and its visitors.

“There’s always issues regarding access and street closures and so the (Gaslamp) association works as the special events committee to work with the city to mitigate any of the community impacts,” Trimble said.

City, Convention Center Thriving

With the COVID-19 pandemic mostly in the rear-view mirror, the return of events to the downtown area is also a welcome sight.

Trimble cited the influx of people to the Convention Center at Comic-Con and the Esri User Conference (UC), both in July.

According to Reyes, Comic-Con had an estimated attendance of 135,000, an estimated total contracted 62,000+ room nights and an estimated regional impact of $161.7 million. ESRI drew just overs 21,000 attendees, had an estimated total contracted 27,100+ room nights and an estimated regional impact of $61.2 million.

“When you have that many people that are at the Convention Center for an extended period of time and you’re seeing people coming into the Gaslamp for lunch and for dinners, that definitely helps quite a bit,” Trimble said. “When the conventions weren’t around, that was definitely a large impact financially for our merchant base. So to see the conventions coming back strong, it’s really important as a way to continue to keep business thriving downtown.”

Twitch Getting Another Warm Welcome

San Diego Tourism Authority President and CEO Julie Coker said San Diego is excited to have TwitchCon back in town.

“Gaming and video streaming have such a broad appeal with endless possibilities,” Coker said. “Last time TwitchCon was in San Diego, it drew 30,000 attendees, creating an economic impact of more than $74 million. It’s anticipated to be a Top 5 event at the San Diego Convention Center and we look forward to contributing to its growth.”

A three-day pass to the event is $239, with one-day passes starting at $149 and the block party costs $110.

TwitchCon is under the umbrella of Twitch, the interactive livestreaming service for content spanning gaming, entertainment, sports, music and more launched in 2011. 

Peng said that at any given moment, on average, more than 2.5 million people come together from all over the globe to interact around this distinct form of entertainment that is created by the shared interactions of millions of people.

She said there are more than 35 million daily visitors on average to Twitch.

San Diego Convention Center Corporation
FOUNDED: 1984
CEO: Rip Rippetoe
HEADQUARTERS: San Diego
BUSINESS: Nonprofit benefit corporation
REVENUE: $43 million (FY 2024 forecast)
EMPLOYEES: 428
WEBSITE: visitsandiego.com
CONTACT: 619-525-5000
SOCIAL IMPACT: The San Diego Convention Center team regularly supports the community by partnering with local schools and nonprofits, participating in neighborhood clean-up events, and lighting its iconic Sails Pavilion to recognize important causes and awareness days.
NOTABLE: The SD Convention Center Corporation oversees the 2.6-million square foot facility along San Diego’s waterfront downtown.