After angling for a new stadium for years, the Chargers now look to Chula Vista for help.
The San Diego Chargers want a new stadium and they've been working for years to get one.
The stadium search changed on Jan. 1, 2007. That's when cities and groups from outside San Diego County could begin courting the team -- Las Vegas was the first to come calling days after the deadline. By the terms of their contract with the city of San Diego, the Chargers could officially split town at the end of the 2008 season if they found an enticing suitor. But so far, team officials say their search has stayed within the county.
Will they stay, or will they go? Andrew Donohue describes what's in store for the Chargers.
A number of cities and entities in San Diego have worked to keep them here, though no solid proposal has emerged yet. The team has said it is optimistic enough with the progress to, for the time being, "politely decline" any overtures made by suitors from outside.
Currently, Chula Vista is analyzing two potential stadium sites. National City and Oceanside tried, but later bowed out. The city and county of San Diego have talked about forming a joint stadium authority to deal with the team's demands, but that idea has yet to take off.
So how did it come to this? A 1995 deal between the Chargers and the city of San Diego under former Mayor Susan Golding was supposed to keep the team in town until 2020. Qualcomm Stadium was given a $78 million upgrade, but an opt-out known as the "trigger" clause allowed the team to get out of the stadium contract in certain years if its revenues fell below a certain level.
The threat of that "trigger" clause and the team's stadium demands spurred former San Diego Mayor Dick Murphy to convene a task force in 2002. In early 2003, the team put together a $400 million stadium and mixed-use development proposal for the existing site at Qualcomm in Mission Valley. The proposal asked for $200 million of public funds -- which would have come from a city-sponsored redevelopment of the site -- and didn't gain much traction.
The team later triggered the opt-out clause in March 2003, which eventually led to a renegotiated contract. The new lease did away with a clause known as the "ticket guarantee" in which the city purchased any unsold tickets to Chargers home games. It allowed the team to leave town in 2008, but was advertised on the idea that voters would have the opportunity to vote on a stadium package in San Diego in 2006 before the team could relocate.
That vote never came about, as the team said in early 2006 that the city of San Diego's financial troubles, political strife and worries about the housing market killed a development package that called for the stadium to be privately financed, with the help of 60 acres of public land.
With the proposal dead, the San Diego City Council voted in 2006 to amend its contract with the team and allow the Chargers to negotiate with other cities inside San Diego County, giving local parties a head-start on other suitors. Los Angeles, Anaheim, Las Vegas and San Antonio have been named as possible interested parties.
The team says it needs a new stadium to remain financially competitive in the National Football League. Newer stadiums offer electronic -- rather than fixed -- signage that allows advertisements to be switched with ease, corporate sponsorships such as naming rights and luxury boxes and club seats.
If the Chargers do leave Qualcomm stadium, they are required to pay off the city's remaining debt from the Qualcomm renovation agreed to in 1995. The costs peak at $56.2 million in 2009 and gradually decline down to $19.9 million in 2014 and $3.4 million in 2020.
The Chargers hope to construct mixed-use development in concert and using the proceeds to finance the stadium, which is estimated to cost $600 million. To do so, the team is also searching for a development partner -- the package is expected to cost at least $1 billion.
