Dreams of putting the financing of a new stadium for the San Diego Chargers on the November ballot seem to be over—and the team seems to be content.
In statements made to the San Diego Association of Governments, Chargers special counsel Mark Fabiani said that a vote for a new stadium can be pushed back to 2013—after the Chargers’ 2012 season and after a new slew of politicians take over various posts throughout San Diego County.
The vote would also not be a just tied to the City of San Diego, whose East Village location adjacent to Petco Park is where the Chargers currently want to build their new home.
Instead, Fabiani asked for regional cooperation and that the vote be countywide instead of just city specific when it does happen.
“There is no scenario that I know of that just has the City (of San Diego) and then Chargers doing this,” Fabiani told SANDAG officials. “It’s going to be an effort that encompasses the entire region. Now what exactly that looks like, what people are going to be asked to do, what people can do, all of that is very much up in the air and all of that we hope will come into clearer focus as the year goes on.”
This is not the first time that Fabiani has floated the idea of a Spring 2013 election for a new stadium project.
When the Chargers—in a joint statement with San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders’ office—said that the team would remain in San Diego and not use its termination clause, Fabiani also stated that the team and the city needed to be ready for a vote after the November 2012 general election.
“If for some reason we miss the November ballot deadline,” Fabiani said in a Q&A posted on Chargers.com, “we need to be ready to consider alternatives, such as a special election in the Spring of 2013.”
While many may question whether the Chargers should receive public funds to finance a new stadium, the commitment to a ballot measure in the Spring of 2013 means that the team may be willing to stay in San Diego for at least the 2012 and 2013 seasons.
The Chargers can leave their Qualcomm Stadium lease any time between February 1 and May 1 of each year.
A spring time election—which would occur in either March, April or May—may not afford the team enough to make the decision to leave Qualcomm Stadium and move 120 miles north, to a Los Angeles stadium that is being proposed by AEG or Ed Roski’s Majestic Realty Co.
And given that fact, it seems that the Chargers are determined to find a solution in San Diego.
It’s been 10 years since the Chargers announced plans to build a new stadium in Mission Valley.
After looking at sites all over the county—Oceanside, Escondido, Chula Vista, National City and now the East Village—the Chargers seem to be ready to finish their stadium search in San Diego.
"Believe it or not, this is our 10th year working on this stadium issue," Fabiani told the Los Angeles Times in January. "So we feel like we've already been in it for the long haul."
For more info: Visit the San Diego Stadium Coalition website. Visit our San Diego Chargers Examiner, Dave Thomas. For more on the NFL, visit our NFL Examiner Danny Cox. Follow me on Twitter. Like us on Facebook.
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