Momentum builds in San Diego for new stadium

Call it leverage, or call it fake, but plans by the Chargers to relocate to Carson definitely put more pressure than ever on San Diego to build a stadium for the team. San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer was outraged to say the least to learn what the Chargers were doing behind the scenes to secure a plan they have to share a new home with the Oakland Raiders.

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I’ll admit, I think the proposal to move to Carson was smart for the team, to create a “Plan B” in case things don’t work out in America’ s Finest City. I’ll give them credit for doing that, but ultimately, I seriously doubt that plan will ever be executed. I think we’d see the Chargers move in with the Rams into the place team owner Stand Kroenke plans to build before Carson ever happens. But boy, do the Chargers have leverage now.

With all of that said, things in San Diego have actually taken a turn. On Monday, Mayor Faulconer’s Stadium Task Force hosted a public forum for fans in San Diego at Qualcomm Stadium. Nearly 3,000 people showed up, and about 300 people spoke, offering their opinions, creativity, and ideas on both where a new stadium should be built, and how to finance it.

It seems that the majority of the fans who showed up on Monday night were heavily in favor of using the current Mission Valley site, where Qualcomm Stadium sits, as where it should be built. The Chargers were pretty adamant about getting a joint-venue built in downtown. However, according to multiple sources from UT-San Diego, team owner Dean Spanos is starting to like the thought of staying in Mission Valley. Also, the word on the street is that Spanos and Faulconer are in “constant communication” now.

And then there was financing. Some great ideas were brought to the attention of the task force, and they were even writing some of them down. Some of the interesting ideas that were said were:

-Creating a bridge loan from the County of San Diego

-Selling off mementoes from Qualcomm, like stadium seats, signage, and other random things people might be willing to purchase

-Using a crowd-funding site to get some money

All great ideas, and ones certainly to think about.

The Stadium Task Force re-grouped and met on Tuesday, and it is believed that they will be coming up with a site to recommend within the next few weeks, and that they are anticipating to make their final recommendation to the Mayor in the next 60 days. Between now and then, they plan to meet with everybody and anybody who can help out in creating a master plan and the key to keeping the team in San Diego.

The next 60 days will be interesting to say the least.

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