Monday, March 14, 2005 | The disposition of Qualcomm Stadium is coming up as a major issue for the city of San Diego. Here is a perspective from Peter Q. Davis, a banker and former Port Commissioner.
The San Diego Chargers (owned by the Spanos family) are angling for a deal with the city that allows them to build 6,000 residential units at Qualcomm Stadium. To use the popular expression of the day, I wonder if “anyone has done the math.”
Here is mine: The median priced home in San Diego County is now over $500,000, and the average annual appreciation has been about 20 percent. One can say that the Spanos family is looking at making at least $100,000 per unit.
Let’s do the math- $100,000 X 6,000. Yep, hard to believe but it equals $600 million. That is more than the Chargers and a new stadium would cost.
So food for thought: The Chargers’ plans make them $600 million. What does it make for the city?
Peter Q. Davis is the former Chairman, President and CEO of Bank of Commerce which was acquired by US Bank, the former chairman of the Centre City Development Corporation, and the former chairman of the San Diego Unified Port District.