Oceanside officials are still haggling over where — and whether — to build a gateway arch meant to greet visitors ahead of the 2028 Olympics, after the city's hired design consultant pitched Mission Avenue at Nevada Street as the top choice and the council sent the proposal back for more review. No final decision was made, and the project now heads into a November budget workshop and a round of still-unscheduled community meetings before it moves forward.
Consultant Simon Andrews of Graphic Solutions presented Mission Avenue at Nevada Street as the top choice, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune. Andrews said his firm ruled out several sites along Coast Highway because shallow underground utilities and narrow rights-of-way there would complicate construction. The council was asked to narrow eleven preliminary designs down to three for further study, but members instead sent the proposal back for more review.
A Contract Already in Motion
The design debate comes months after the council approved a professional services agreement with Graphic Solutions worth up to $254,342 in April, after the San Diego firm submitted the sole bid following a November 2025 request for proposals, according to North Coast Current. The firm was contracted to work with the community on conceptual designs and sign locations. Graphic Solutions' prior projects include work in Escondido's Maple Street Plaza, Pacific Highlands Ranch, El Cajon, Point Loma and Chula Vista.
The gateway arch's cost is one question facing the project.
Oceanside's Infrastructure Needs
The Pier View Way bridge, which provides access to the wooden portion of the Oceanside Municipal Pier, is 99 years old and deteriorating, and the city is roughly $60 million short of what it needs to rebuild it, according to the Union-Tribune's reporting. Hoodline previously reported on the bridge's replacement plan, which was estimated at $40 million and includes expanding the beachfront lifeguard headquarters beneath it to serve up to 50 daily staff members.
The council approved a $516,350 engineering design contract with Noble Consultants in April to plan repairs to the pier's hammerhead tip, following a $1.92 million emergency cleanup, with construction expected in 2027. Fire Station 8, meanwhile, was approved by the Oceanside Planning Commission back in January 2024 at an estimated $16 million, but city officials have said construction funding remains unassigned, while the department's temporary station continues operating out of a commercial suite.
Why the Olympics Clock Is Ticking
The gateway project is tied to Oceanside's preparations for the 2028 Summer Olympics. Design work is expected to continue into early 2027, with installation anticipated in late 2027.
Oceanside's Broader Olympic Build-Out
The gateway debate fits into a wider push to position Oceanside as a surf destination before 2028. Construction is underway on Ocean Kamp, a 92-acre mixed-use development three miles inland along Mission Avenue featuring a $45 million, 3.5-acre wave pool surf lagoon aimed for completion before the Olympics, according to SURFER Magazine.
An advisory committee weighing in on the gateway sign includes representatives from MainStreet Oceanside, the Oceanside Historical Society, Visit Oceanside, the Oceanside Cultural District, the Arts Commission, the Oceanside Downtown Advisory Committee and the Oceanside Chamber of Commerce. For now, the council has made no decision on the sign's design or location, leaving the question of where — and whether — Oceanside builds its Olympic welcome mat to a November budget workshop and community meetings that have yet to be scheduled.
