Chargers, San Diego City Council Agree in Principal to Stadium Funding Plan

Somehow people are still falling for this and getting their knickers in a twist. Since I have had my fill of April Fool’s haters (and great deals of wholehearted chuckles) and this article as over 24 hours old, I will throw you guys a bone.

THIS IS AN APRIL FOOLS JOKE! IF SOMEONE SENT YOU HERE, THEY ARE EITHER PIGGYBACKING OUR AMAZING SENSE OF HUMOR, OR STILL CONVINCED. IN THE EVENT OF THE LATTER, SEND THEM BACK HERE TO READ THIS THOUGHTFUL MESSAGE FROM YOUR FRIEND AND HUMBLE NARRATOR.

The Chargers are closer than they have been since 1967 to playing in a new stadium in San Diego. I know. Just take a nice deep breath before letting out the biggest scream of your life. We don’t want anyone passing out from happiness here.

According to Mark Fabiani, the Chargers Special Counsel in charge of stadium research and opportunities since 2002, the Spanos family and Mayor Kevin Faulconer the City of San Diego general counsel have agreed in principal to a plan to a financing plan for a new Chargers stadium in downtown that will be placed on the November 2014 ballot. Fabiani spoke with reporters late last night after a deal was struck during intensified negotiations in preparation for the upcoming 2014 season.

“I am proud to share on the behalf of Dean Spanos, Alex Spanos, the San Diego Chargers, and the city of San Diego, that we have reached an agreement for the general financing plan of a new Chargers Stadium. I will allow the Chargers and Mayor Faulconer to elaborate on the details of the agreement, but I will say that the new stadium is to be located east of Petco Park and will be on the ballot by November. We’ve looked at every opportunity to finance a new stadium in San Diego for the better part the millennium, and are proud to ensure that the Chargers will remain the San Diego Super Chargers for the foreseeable future.” – Mark Fabiani

Woah. This news comes just a few days after Mayor Faulconer released this statement:

“When you look at the success that Petco Park has had in the community, the opportunity for a new stadium has to be an entire package that makes sense for San Diego. That’s my job as mayor.” – Mayor Kevin Faulconer

Way to go Mayor Faulconer. Not much is known about the deal at this point, but if they reached a basic agreement this early, it appears that the Spanos family must have ponied up some more cash to finance the estimated $800-$900 Million, 70,000 seat stadium project in downtown San Diego without any additional tax increases that the Mayor’s office would likely have rejected.

Todd Gloria, San Diego council president and representative of District 3 (east of Petco Park) recently raised concerns about a project to be built in District 3, although they were not unfounded.

“My sort of refrain has been where do you want to go? What it’s going to cost? And how are you going to pay for it?” – Todd Gloria

Mark Fabiani appears to have answered two of these questions. The stadium is likely some form of the proposed East Village Stadium in the cover photo, the district represented by Todd Gloria. The Chargers’ proposal is an estimated $800-$900 M, which makes sense given the Cowboys’ new stadium cost an estimated $1.15B.

But, the last and most important question has yet to be answered. What will the bill be for the Spanos family? the City of San Diego? the tax payers? I would assume that the plan is that either the Spanos’ are offering to finance a larger percentage of the stadium, the city plans to sell of existing stadium sites (such as Qualcomm or the Sports Arena), the increase to taxpayers is very, VERY minimal, or some combination of the three. Could the Chargers possibly have offered some sort of city revenue sharing ala the Green Bay Packers? I suppose we will see very soon.

The Spanos family is expected to address the media later this week to announce that the agreement is false and an April Fools joke by yours truly. I must admit that Mark Fabiani definitely did not say anything in that quote. I can’t wait to see when an agreement is reached and what the actual stadium will look like though. Can you?