Sunday, Aug. 30, 2009 | I wanted a few moments of your time to speak on behalf of a project that is very important to me. Currently the San Diego Chargers, via the Spanos family, are in search of a site to build a new stadium venue for the San Diego Chargers. The current site of Qualcomm Stadium in Mission Valley is woefully outdated, not to mention having a parking lot that is completely inadequate and making the congestion in the Mission Valley area unbearable. On top of this, if the Chargers were to remain at Qualcomm, the stadium is in need of over $50M in deferred maintenance that would have to be taken care of in the near future.
The Spanos family has spent the past 7 years searching for a new stadium site to no avail. Why should this project be so hard to find a solution to? I believe the largest problem is misinformation to the public. The most common argument seems to be that the taxpayers do not want to pay for the new stadium. However, the Chargers proposal calls for 100% private funding and would not cost tax payers a dime!
A new stadium would create jobs, increase tourism, grow the regions tax base, and provide wonderful national exposure. With the building of a new stadium, San Diego would again be able to bid on and probably host Super Bowls for years to come. This will not happen with Qualcomm! Especially with the financial downturn, how can San Diego not benefit from the construction jobs a new stadium would bring, and the subsequent increased revenues that will come with future Chargers games and perhaps even Super Bowls?
As a long time Chargers fan and a native San Diegan, I demand to know why more is not being done to keep this wonderful franchise in our beautiful city! I beseech fans and all San Diegans to make yourself knowledgeable about the issues and then make your opinions known to our city council members!
As a passionate fan I don’t want to see them go anywhere else, but even as a citizen, I can see the benefits that will come from building a new stadium in the San Diego vicinity.