A waterfront site in Chula Vista could be a potential home to the Chargers, now that Gaylord Entertainment Co. has abandoned its plans to build a huge waterfront convention center complex there.
The team’s special counsel, Mark Fabiani, told me today that the team has talked to city and port officials about the possibility of building a new stadium on the waterfront site. But he said both the city and port have made clear they’re taking their time finding a new use for the former Gaylord site.
Moreover, Fabiani said the economy’s toll on Chula Vista and on the region in general could make doing the project more difficult. “We’re going to stick with it,” he said.
The team has been looking at two other Chula Vista sites: a parcel in the eastern part of the city where officials hope to also house a university campus, and a waterfront site now home to the South Bay Power Plant. Fabiani noted that the recent approval of the Sunrise Powerlink could clear the way for that power plant to be demolished.
Fabiani dismissed rumors that the Chargers were looking to move to Los Angeles. This weekend, the San Francisco Chronicle’s Willie Brown wrote that the team was interested in a move up north, citing the Los Angeles mayor’s behavior at the Chargers’ Jan. 3 playoff game against Indianapolis. Brown wrote:
The San Diego Chargers are looking to move to Los Angeles.
L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and his people were at the Chargers playoff game last week, and they were being extremely solicitous of team owner Alex Spanos.
North County Times sports columnist Jay Paris had previously noted Villaraigosa’s presence at the game.
Fabiani said Villaraigosa was invited as part of a regular practice of asking prominent people to the games, noting that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and state Senate leader Darrell Steinberg were also there. Fabiani said there was no talk about moving the team to Los Angeles.
“Our position hasn’t changed,” Fabiani said. “We continue to try to find a solution in San Diego County.”