San Diego, CA
Comic-Con: A lot more illegal building wraps in downtown San Diego this year
Downtown San Diego has become a canvas for the latest TV shows and video games with wraps attached to more than 30 buildings.
Set to be completed before San Diego Comic-Con International kicks off Wednesday night, the advertisements are for everything from the “Lord of the Rings” show to the “The Walking Dead” franchise.
Most of the building wraps are technically illegal. But given that the penalties are lower than the revenue that building owners get from the wraps, they do it anyway.
The city can fine hotels and businesses up to $10,000 a day, but such high sanctions are rare. It is more common for the city to give out warnings or a $1,000 per day citation.
Some neighborhood groups have complained in past years that the building wraps are a blight on downtown. That contrasts with Comic-Con attendees who enjoy seeing the buildings transformed.
Justin Wu, a local surgeon downtown Monday promoting his Healing Little Heroes Foundation, said that he has seen the scale and quality increase over the years.
“I love it. They are big and colorful,” he said, wearing a Captain America costume. “They keep getting bigger and bigger.”
The company responsible for most of the wraps is New York-based KAP Media Group. The company started with one wrap in 2012 and has seen its business grow each year. It has 25 this year, up from 23 last year and 18 in 2022.
KAP founder Lori Brabant said a lot of work goes into the wraps from picking the colors that will go best with the building to figuring out how to fit around the contours of different properties.
“These are pieces of art,” she said. “It is very exciting for us to see it come to life.”
Most wraps are attached with an adhesive vinyl, but different materials can be used depending on what the building calls for. Brabant said wraps can cost more than $100,000, but did not want to disclose specifics.
Not all of the building wraps are illegal. The Port of San Diego allows building wraps on land it controls west of Harbor Drive and Pacific Highway.
There are plenty of other advertisements downtown besides wraps. Marvel Studios has banners on flags for the “Fantastic Four” film opening next summer; San Diego Trolley has wraps for “The Sandman” and other properties; the Jack in the Box on C Street was turned into a promotion for the “Deadpool & Wolverine” film; and banners for the new Batman show “The Penguin” are posted along the trolley tracks.
One of the biggest advertisements is on a new three-sided digital billboard outside the Gaslamp Quarter trolley station that will play advertisements for the new Peacock show “Those About to Die” and the opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
Here is a look at some of this year’s building wraps:
Daryl Dixon (“The Walking Dead”)
Location: The PendryAddress: 550 J St.
AMC’s successful zombie franchise “The Walking Dead” has now stretched into multiple TV shows including “Daryl Dixon,” which covers all of the Pendry San Diego hotel.
The Rings of Power
Location: Toscana Cafe & Wine Bar buildingAddress: 238 Fifth Ave.
Amazon Prime’s Lord of the Rings show, “The Rings of Power”, is back for a second season. This building was used last year by Prime’s other big franchise, “The Boys.”
Fox Animation
Location: The Omni San Diego HotelAddress: 675 L St.
Fox Animation celebrates many of its shows on the hotel, including “The Simpsons,” “Family Guy” and “Bob’s Burgers.” The southern side features Maggie Simpson holding building blocks that spell out SDCC .
Marvel: Contest of Champions
Location: Hilton San Diego Gaslamp QuarterAddress: 401 K St.
The Contest of Champions game features a big installation in the Martin Luther King, Jr. Promenade with a Ferris wheel. You can see an advertisement for the game, featuring Wolverine, Captain America and Deadpool, on the wall of the adjacent hotel.
Abbott Elementary
Location: Petco ParkAddress: 100 Park Blvd.
The ABC/Hulu sitcom “Abbott Elementary” is getting ready for a fourth season and has been a frequent presence at Comic-Con. For a second year, it covers much of Petco Park.
Anne Rice’s Immortal Universe
Location: Hilton San Diego Gaslamp QuarterAddress: 401 K St.
AMC’s franchise of shows based on Anne Rice books has now spread into three shows: “Interview with the Vampire,” “Mayfair Witches” and (in development) “Talamasca.”
SpongeBob SquarePants
Location: Hard Rock Hotel San DiegoAddress: 207 Fifth Ave.
The beloved animated series “SpongeBob SquarePants” is celebrating its 25th year by taking over the entire Hard Rock Hotel. Memes on the building have already been a big hit on social media.
Star Trek
Location: Marriott Marquis San Diego MarinaAddress: 333 W. Harbor Drive
The biggest wrap this year, at 36,000 square feet, is for Paramount+’s series of “Star Trek” shows.
Elden Ring
Location: Hilton San Diego Bayfront parking garageAddress: 1 Park Blvd
The role-playing game Elden Ring, which won several “best game of the year” awards in 2023, is advertised on a heavily used parking garage near the Convention Center.
Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Location: Park 12Address: 100 Park Plaza
The latest Ninja Turtles show coming to Paramount+ covers downtown San Diego’s biggest apartment complex, Park 12, which has 718 units.
Originally Published:
NASCAR will honor the 250th birthday of the United States and the US Navy’s 250th anniversary with a race brand new to the racing calendar.
The Anduril 250 will take place on a road course built on Naval Base Coronado in San Diego, California. The 3.4-mile track has 19 turns. The race is 255 miles total and drivers will do 75 laps.
Shane van Gisbergen, who is widely considered to be NASCAR’s best road course driver, will start in pole position. van Gisbergen has won seven road races in 14 total starts, and he is just two road wins away from tying Jeff Gordon’s record of nine.
nascar anduril 250: what to know
- When: June 21, 4 p.m. ET
- Where: Coronado Street Course (Naval Base Coronado, San Diego, California)
- Channel: Streaming exclusive
- Streaming: Prime Video (30 days free)
Here’s everything you need to know about today’s NASCAR Cup Series race on the Coronado Street Course.
NASCAR Cup race at San Diego start time:
Today’s (June 21) NASCAR race, the Anduril 250, begins at 4 p.m. ET.
What channel is today’s (June 21) NASCAR race on?
Today’s NASCAR race won’t be on traditional television; it will air exclusively on Prime Video.
How to watch the NASCAR Anduril 250 for free:
With Prime Video, you can also take advantage of the streamer’s Shop the Race storefront, exclusively on the Amazon mobile app, to shop gear, flags, and more for your favorite driver.
NASCAR San Diego starting lineup:
- Shane van Gisbergen
- Carson Hocevar
- Ryan Blaney
- Zane Smith
- Todd Gilliland
- Daniel Suárez
- Ryan Preece
- Connor Zilisch
- Michael McDowell
- Austin Hill
- Ty Gibbs
- Bubba Wallace
- Corey Heim
- Kyle Larson
- AJ Allmendinger
- Chris Buescher
- Tyler Reddick
- Austin Dillon
- Joey Logano
- Alex Bowman
- Kevin Magnussen
- Chase Briscoe
- Ross Chastain
- Riley Herbst
- Cole Custer
- Denny Hamlin
- William Byron
- John Hunter Nemechek
- Brad Keselowski
- Chase Elliott
- Austin Cindric
- Noah Gragson
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
- Ty Dillon
- Josh Berry
- Jimmie Johnson
- Christopher Bell
- Erik Jones
- Cody Ware
Why Trust Post Wanted by the New York Post
This article was written by Angela Tricarico, Commerce Streaming Reporter for Post Wanted Shopping, Page Six, and Decider.com. Angela keeps readers up to date with cord-cutter-friendly deals, and information on how to watch your favorite sports teams, TV shows, and movies on every streaming service. Not only does Angela test and compare the streaming services she writes about to ensure readers are getting the best prices, but she’s also a superfan specializing in the intersection of shopping, tech, sports, and pop culture. When she’s not writing about (or watching) TV, movies, and sports, she’s also keeping up on the underrated perfume dupes at Bath & Body Works and testing headphones. Prior to joining Decider and The New York Post in 2023, she wrote about streaming and consumer tech at Insider Reviews.
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Shane van Gisbergen earned his sixth career pole and second of the 2026 season on Saturday, rocketing to pole position around NASCAR’s all-new 3.4-mile street course at Naval Base Coronado. He even touched the wall twice on his fast lap, pushing to the absolute limit.
“A little bit (surprised),” said Van Gisbergen, who went out with the first group of qualifiers. “I thought the track would be better, and I thought people would execute a bit better. As I said, it’s just so difficult. There’s three or four corners you’re seeing for the first time of the day, and it’s on your heater. Amazing. The Red Bull Chevy is really good. Thank you to Trackhouse for doing a great job from yesterday, and we just need to get the driver a bit better,” he concluded with a smile.”
Watch: SVG surprised to win Busch Light Pole at San Diego
Van Gisbergen bested Carson Hocevar by 0.0156s with a fast lap of 2:14.788s. Ryan Blaney will start third, Zane Smith fourth, and Todd Gilliland fifth. Blaney was a little bit quicker than SVG for most of his lap, but lost it through the final set of corners.
Daniel Suarez, Ryan Preece, Connor Zilisch, Michael McDowell, and Austin Hill will out the remainder of the top ten on the starting grid.
Project 91 driver Kevin Magnussen qualified 21st for his NASCAR Cup debut. Notably, championship leader Tyler Reddick spun out, but still reached 17th on the grid. Denny Hamlin is just 19 points behind him, and will start 26th.
Watch: Reddick loops it in Turn 2 during qualifying
Some other notable drivers very deep in the field include William Byron in 27th, Chase Elliott 30th, and an injured Christopher Bell 37th. He will have Brent Crews on standby, and may finish the race for Bell on Sunday.
Jimmie Johnson was the first driver to set a time, and showed just how tricky things were as he had to use the runoff area in Turn 2 to avoid an incident. Erik Jones also smacked the wall at the exit of Turn 16, but there were no red flags during the session.
NASCAR Cup San Diego ‘Anduril 250’ Full Starting Lineup
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