Will The San Diego Chargers Wind Up In LA? Not If San Diego Can Help It
The San Diego Chargers and the city of San Diego have been dancing for years, seeing if the Chargers will stay or move to another city. Consider this the last tango.
ESPN is reporting that San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer has put together a nine-member committee, called the Citizen’s Stadium Advisory Committee, to devise a way to build a brand new 80,000-seat stadium to keep the Chargers in San Diego.
Currently, the Chargers, Oakland Raiders, and St. Louis Rams are potential candidates to move to Los Angeles, the second-largest television market in the nation, which has been without an NFL team since 1994, when the Raiders returned to Oakland and the Rams moved to St. Louis.
Part of the impetus for Faulconer’s formation of the team is that Rams owner Stan Kroenke has bought land in Southern California, near the Hollywood Park area in Inglewood, California, to build a new stadium. Also, during his state of the league address, commissioner Roger Goodell did say that “there are teams that are interested that are trying to work their issues out locally. As a league, we haven’t got to that stage yet, and they would all be subject to relocation policy requirements.”
Faulconer wants to get a deal on paper to present to the citizens of San Diego for a vote.
He said, “Let’s be honest, at no point in San Diego’s history has the possibility of the Chargers moving to L.A. been more real. It’s time for us as a community to come together to decide the future of the Chargers in San Diego.”
NBC 7 is reporting that the newly formed committee has until the fall to advise on the best possible location for the new stadium and how construction will be funded. It is expected that the committee will steer clear of tax-based funding since that would require a two-thirds majority approval of the voters.
The nine business and civic leaders selected for this committee are Doug Barnhart, chairman of Barnhart-Reese Construction, Rod Dammeyer, private equity investor, Adam Day, California State University trustee & assistant tribal manager of Sycuan, Walt Ekard, former San Diego County CAO & City of San Diego COO, Aimee Faucett, COO of the San Diego Regional Chamber, Jason Hughes, president and CEO of Hughes Marino, Jessie Knight, executive vice president of Sempra Energy, chairman of the board of SDG&E, Mary Lydon, executive director of Urban Land Institute-San Diego-Tijuana, and Jim Steeg, former NFL executive.
The most noticeable addition is Steeg, who helped build the Super Bowl to the spectacle that is today. The most noticeable oversight is the inclusion of anyone from the Chargers organization. Steve Cushman, who has served as the liaison between the Chargers and the city of San Diego, was overlooked. Mark Fabiani, special counsel representing the Chargers in this situation, indicates the franchise is under-whelmed by the new advisory group, and that it will be “pleased to evaluate any other ideas” beyond the nine stadium proposals it’s advanced over 13 years.
The Chargers thus far have enjoyed the luxury of deciding whether they want to stay in Qualcomm Stadium, widely considered one of the oldest, worn-down stadiums the NFL utilizes or opt out and move. They have between February 1 and May 1 annually to make this choice until the formal lease officially expires in 2020.
One of the biggest sticking points, other than financing, is the Chargers wanting the new stadium to be somehow tied to a new annex attached to the convention center. The city of San Diego is looking for the best fit for both cost and location. Ultimately, Faulconer would like this to go to the voters for the final say, which needs a majority-only vote.
[Image courtesy of ESPN]
