There’s talk of reviving the long-talked-about San Diego Convention Center expansion with a potential push for November’s ballot — and one of the best cases for such a project is that it continues to attract some huge names (including not only San Diego Comic-Con, but also a slew of medical conferences in 2018), which bring with them money, jobs, and a huge tourism boost to San Diego.

The San Diego Convention Center Corporation has posted their 2018 regional impact forecast for all of the conventions that the San Diego Convention Center hosts, and they’re predicting to generate $1.2 billion in total regional impact this calendar year (up from $1.1 billion estimated in 2017).

Of the 108 events scheduled for 2018 – with the possibility of more to be added – San Diego Comic-Con is by far the biggest performer, estimated to have a regional impact of $147,100,000 in 2018 (up $4 million from the 2017 forecast). The next biggest regional economic performer is the Society for Neuroscience, which is estimated to bring in $88,800,000 to the region.

That $147.1 million is shy of the San Diego Workforce Partnership’s $160,000 – $180,000 million economic impact estimation from November 2014, but it’s still a huge boost for the city. It’s also possible that this study isn’t taking into account the few thousand people who flock to the city every year during the convention for other, offsite events, even without a Comic-Con badge.

Here’s a look at the Top Economic Generators, from the 2018 Forecast:

With SDCC’s current contract with the San Diego Convention Center only set through 2021, and lots of recent setbacks in any expansion plan, findings like this one are important for helping to prove to San Diego at large that Comic-Con is worth fighting for.

You can read the full study on the San Diego Convention Center’s site.

Are you surprised by any of this information? Let us know in the comments.