Qualcomm 2008

[RandyC]

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblog...ve-may-be-don/

If another NFL team occupies a new stadium under consideration in City of Industry in the Los Angeles market, "It would be financially catastrophic for the Chargers," Mark Fabiani, the team's spokesman, told Gene Cubbison of KNSD-TV yesterday (Oct. 22). "We're in a bad financial situation now; we'd be in a much worse situation if there was a team in Los Angeles," Fabiani intoned. Of course, he was not telling the truth. The Chargers are not in a bad financial situation. They are making plenty of money at Qualcomm Stadium. It's just that they want to rake in more money. The Chargers deny it, but they want to occupy that City of Industry stadium, if it is ever built. The Chargers can never get the kind of money they want from luxury boxes, club seats, advertising, and sponsorships in San Diego. Teams get to keep such revenue -- not having to share it with other teams. Fabiani told Cubbison that the team gets 30% of such revenue from the L.A. market -- another dubious statement.
There are 17.1 million people in the L.A. market, compared with 3.1 million in San Diego. L.A. has many more companies and superrich families that would put bodies in the luxury boxes and seats. Fabiani's remark means that he is putting pressure on the league to let the Chargers move. Other teams, such as Jacksonville, Minnesota, and Oakland, covet L.A.
Fabiani's statement "makes the obvious obvious," says former Councilmember Bruce Henderson. "It's basically over with, although the team may not yet have made a deal with other owners." Other owners no doubt fear an uprising in San Diego, such as the one that mushroomed in Cleveland when the Browns left.

Fabiani's statement "makes the obvious obvious," says former Councilmember Bruce Henderson. "It's basically over with, although the team may not yet have made a deal with other owners."

[RandyC]

Some positive movement to building a new stadium downtown.

Chargers, city are discussing downtown
15-acre site near Petco Park eyed for $1 billion project
By Matthew T. Hall

Tuesday, November 10, 2009 at midnight


SAN DIEGO — After years of watching other cities tease the Chargers with talk of a new stadium, San Diego has become the team's leading suitor again by dangling the possibility of professional football near Petco Park. Mayor Jerry Sanders discussed the downtown idea in a private meeting with team President Dean Spanos two weeks ago. That prompted Escondido to stop wooing the team while San Diego revisits the stadium issue for the first time since 2006 when the Chargers rejected rebuilding at the Qualcomm Stadium site and began exploring options elsewhere in the county.

The focus on downtown has fueled optimism among community leaders and created anxiety among property owners who might be displaced by a $1 billion stadium project.

The roughly 15 acres being eyed for a stadium includes city-owned Tailgate Park close to Petco Park, the privately owned Wonder Bread building and the bus yard for the San Diego Transit Corp., owned by the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System.

Sanders has long said he would oppose using public funds toward construction of a new stadium, but mayoral spokesman Darren Pudgil said yesterday that the Mayor's Office is looking at all of the ways cities have helped with stadium construction. Pudgil said two options could be infrastructure financing and borrowing money against future redevelopment revenues downtown.

Everyone from team officials to potentially affected property owners say the project's financing is its main hurdle.

"Somehow, somebody still has to come up with the money to build this big, expensive stadium," said Bob Sinclair, who owns the Wonder Bread building. "I don't know how they're going to get over that delta for the cost."

Sanders and Spanos met for about an hour on Oct. 27 at the La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club. It was their first meeting since Jan. 7, although city and team officials have talked since then. Sanders called Spanos in July and early October, and Sanders' aides met with a team representative in April, May and mid-October. Future meetings will explore the city's role in the project.

In an interview last week, Sanders said contacts are more frequent now because the political landscape has changed since April 2006 when he said San Diego lacks the time and money to focus on a new Chargers stadium.

In particular, Sanders said, the city has a less combative city attorney since Jan Goldsmith replaced Michael Aguirre and the team has stopped exploring sites in Chula Vista, National City and Oceanside.

"I don't want to say the Chargers were not important because they were, but I think that after four years, we certainly have to give them a signal on what we intend to do or how we want to do it or what we can do," Sanders said. "And then start working together to see if we can achieve a solution."

Sanders and Spanos have met privately three other times, once in January 2006, about six weeks after the mayor took office, and twice in October 2006.

Building a football stadium downtown has been kicked around San Diego before. In 2003, the year before Petco Park opened, then-Mayor Dick Murphy's citizens task force on Chargers issues examined a downtown stadium site while studying a replacement or upgrade of Qualcomm Stadium.

At the time, the task force noted that building on the large bus storage facility in East Village was an option but would require a relocation of the fleet and likely an environmental cleanup. On the plus side, it found, the area has 57,000 parking spaces within 1.5 miles.

Property owners in the area are mixed on the idea of a downtown stadium. Sinclair, whose Wonder Bread building on 14th Street dates to 1898 and is about 20 percent leased, said the location makes sense for a stadium because it is accessible, has ample parking, is made up of only a handful of parcels and probably isn't too contaminated from the buses.

While some people believe the team may eventually give in to the temptation of a new stadium proposed for the Los Angeles-area City of Industry, Sinclair expects the team to stay local.

"If they're reasonable enough, they could make a deal with everybody on our little block," he said.

Yet Eddie Zaitona, the longtime owner of Logan Market & Liquor on 16th Street, which could be in the stadium's footprint, doesn't want to leave.

City officials have not ruled out using their eminent domain powers for the stadium, Pudgil said yesterday. For now, the city and team are agreeing to a series of regular meetings to study the stadium concept.

Escondido Mayor Lori Holt Pfeiler said she will stand by in case talks break down in San Diego, but she isn't hoping for that outcome.

"The way I see it, we're all engaged in trying to make sure the Chargers stay in San Diego," she said. "I think (the downtown San Diego location) is a beautiful site."

Chargers special counsel Mark Fabiani, the point person on the team's stadium search, has long said a downtown stadium makes financial sense because infrastructure improvements to accommodate a stadium of up to $1 billion elsewhere could cost $200 million, but they are a fraction of that downtown.

Both Fabiani and Sanders said they want to know quickly if the site is economically feasible for the team. A site of that size would be among the National Football League's smallest stadium footprints.

One of the first matters of business will be conducting a financial analysis to figure out how a project might be financed and to what extent the city might be involved. One possibility is some of the money for the project could come from selling or developing the city-owned 166-acre Qualcomm Stadium site, which the team would leave vacant.

Fabiani attended the Oct. 27 meeting between Sanders and Spanos with Kris Michell, Sanders' chief of staff, and Fred Maas, board chairman of the Centre City Development Corp., the city's downtown redevelopment arm.

The potential site is located entirely in the city's downtown redevelopment area, which may present financing opportunities because redevelopment law allows property tax dollars to be pumped back into an area in large sums. But it could mean competition with other projects for a limited pool of money.

Richard Rider, a longtime taxpayer advocate who ran for mayor in 2005 against Sanders, said the Chargers shouldn't count on any handout, including redevelopment bonds.

"I don't think the taxpayers are going to want to subsidize a new football stadium when we have a perfectly good football stadium more centrally located in Mission Valley," he said.

But Ben Haddad, board chairman at the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, is excited that Sanders and Spanos are again in regular contact.

"If folks can agree at the highest levels on a particular course of action, then I want to be in there right behind them as a business leader trying to get that done," Haddad said.

[RandyC]

The downtown stadium is gaining steam. Escondido has tabled all discussions.

CCDC to Hire Stadium Consultant

The Centre City Development Corp. is officially jumping into the Chargers stadium search.

The city's downtown redevelopment agency's board will consider Wednesday whether to spend $160,000 to hire Evolution Media Capital, a consulting firm that provides advice about paying for major projects. The company is a sports financing arm of the Creative Artists Agency, the Hollywood talent firm.

If CCDC's board approves the contract, it would formalize the city agency's role in the stadium search less than a month after Mayor Jerry Sanders met with Chargers President Dean Spanos to talk about potential downtown stadium sites.

Fred Maas, CCDC's chairman, said Evolution will examine the site east of Petco Park that includes the Wonder Bread building and Metropolitan Transit System lot. CCDC wants to know how other stadiums have been paid for, Maas said, how CCDC may contribute and how such a project -- estimated to cost as much as $1 billion -- could be financed.

The answers to those questions, as my colleague Liam Dillon has pointed out, are tough for the Chargers -- whether it's downtown or in Los Angeles.

CCDC could help pay for some of the stadium's cost, Maas said. Over the remainder of its life, CCDC expects to collect about $390 million more in tax revenue that isn't yet committed to subsidize any specific projects, Maas said. But the agency would not contribute that much toward a stadium, he said. "I can't see that happening," he said.

"Candidly, we're not totally convinced the stadium works there," Maas said, "but we are convinced it's worth looking at the site."

Evolution's effort will be led by Mitchell Ziets, a stadium financing expert. Here's what the SportsBusiness Journal says about him:

Ziets specializes in stadium leases, financing and franchise valuation. ... Over two decades, he has provided financing counsel on more than 40 new stadiums and arenas and advised buyers on acquisitions of teams including the Los Angeles Dodgers, Cleveland Cavaliers, Anaheim Ducks and Washington Nationals.

Maas said Ziets' effort didn't have a specific timeframe for completion, but that initial work should be complete within three to four months.

[woodrufj]

I heard something on the radio a few days ago about San Diego pitching the use of QualComm stadium for possible World Cup (soccer) bids. FIFA officials actually went and inspected it, then deemed is good for use. These bids would be for 2018 or 2022! Seems like pretty long term planning on the city's part.

Jay W

[RandyC]

Originally Posted by woodrufj

I heard something on the radio a few days ago about San Diego pitching the use of QualComm stadium for possible World Cup (soccer) bids. FIFA officials actually went and inspected it, then deemed is good for use. These bids would be for 2018 or 2022! Seems like pretty long term planning on the city's part.

Jay W

I just read about them also pitching the use of a new downtown stadium for World Cup use.

yeah

Last week, a city official and sports booster traveled to New York City to make their case in front officials who are trying to bring the World Cup to the United States. Mayor Jerry Sanders held a press conference promoting the effort today, and the City Council will discuss the city's bid tomorrow, although it's not clear whether a new or half-century-old stadium will greet the world's top soccer teams.

http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/artic...dcup111609.txt

[RandyC]

Update. On Tuesday June 22nd, the city council voted to approve the raise of the spending cap for CDCC. This is technically not a vote for a downtown stadium, but it opens the path for that to happen.

A vote against would have been a certain vote against a stadium. The council however was unanimous in voting for the raise of the cap. This means that $500,000 will be set aside for a study on the future requirements of downtown and where money should be allocated. This may include many other projects and also may include the new stadium.

Chargers referred to the vote as "pivotal."

This means that a possible stadium downtown might come up for a general vote in 2012.

This is actually good news for those that use the parking lot. The inevitable will happen, but it will take longer. The alternative, the Chargers going to Los Angeles (which could still easily happen) could occur much quicker. One theory was they may leave at the end of this coming season and play next year in an existing stadium in Los Angeles until the new Roski stadium is built. That means that as of Feb 2011, we could be looking at a dead stadium.

But going downtown means they would play here until the new stadium is built, and that will take years. A vote in 2012 means 2015 I would think at the earliest.