Comic-Con to stay in San Diego

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SAN DIEGO, Oct. 1 (UPI) -- Organizers of Comic-Con, the largest convention for comic books and pop culture, said the event will remain in San Diego for at least five more years.

Comic-Con International officials had earlier looked to move the convention to a different city when a contract with the San Diego Convention Center ends in 2012. But they said Friday they decided to stay after reaching a deal with 64 hotels to offer discounted rates during the event through 2015, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.

"We've always had a desire to stay in San Diego, and we had three amazing proposals. It was obviously a very difficult decision, one born out by the amount of time it's taken to make that decision. But in the end San Diego was able to address a lot of our concerns," Comic-Con spokesman David Glanzer said.

"It's never been a secret we'd hoped to stay here, but the real challenge was that those who want to attend the event can afford to attend, in terms of size and space and cost," he said.

The event annually brings an estimated $163 million to the San Diego region.