San Diego’s iconic Balboa Park has a billion-dollar problem hiding in plain sight

San Diego’s crown jewel is looking a little tarnished, and polishing it is set to cost a cool $1 billion. Iconic Balboa Park, the sprawling destination packed with museums, gardens and Spanish Colonial Revival style buildings, is buckling under decades of deferred maintenance — leaving city leaders with a mammoth repair bill and no easy way to pay it. The 1,200-acre park’s aging buildings and infrastructure are plagued by everything from weathered roofs and outdated electrical systems to busted plumbing, uneven sidewalks and bathrooms badly in need of a refresh, according to a scathing new report by inewsource. And the tab is only getting bigger. The exterior of the Mingei International Museum, at left, is shown on May 14, 2019. The San Diego Union-Tribune via Getty Images The iconic Balbo