New stadium in LA

[TTK]

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2015/mar/03/chargers-stadium-committee-meets-jmi-downtown-site

CSAG meets with Petco developer

[Mister Hoarse]

JMI building an adacent hotel kind of has a conflict of interest feel, but this is all positive. I like the way the time frame has sped up, and there is a lot of direct contact in these meetings without the usual go-betweens.

[6025]

The hoteliers are sort of screwed if they don't get onboard. They're gonna lose their biggest money maker, Comic Con, without the expansion and the Chargers have the only viable downtown plan. The bus depot presents a problem though, but I would expect the city could make it go away if they wanted to.

[Mister Hoarse]

Metro wants $150M to make the bus depot go away. #sopranofamilyvalues

[6025]

Metro wants $150M to make the bus depot go away. #sopranofamilyvalues

Maybe the Chargers should send Luca Brasi.

[KNSD]

Apparently there was an idea that the ticketholders should pay for the stadium. So let's do some math.
Chargers 10 games * 70k * $10 = 7 million / year
Aztecs/Bowls 10 * 40k * 10 = 4 million/year
Future MLS Team 10&40k * 10 = 4 mil/year
Monster truck, etc.. * 5 * 40k * 10 = 2 mil/year
17 mil/year * 20 years = $340 million

$10/ticket surcharge over 20 years: 340 mil
$20/ticket surcharge over 20 years: 720 mil

Now we're getting somewhere.

[Wheels]

I think it's a great idea, but the team will certainly consider that their own revenue, just like they took the naming rights off the table too.

[KNSD]

I think it's a great idea, but the team will certainly consider that their own revenue, just like they took the naming rights off the table too.

Yeah, well 10-20 mil/year for 20 years (200 to 400 mil) is certainly enough to help fund an Aztec/MLS stadium. Those (now abandoned) naming rights would help fund a new stadium as well. (Negotiate from a position of strength, not weakness)

[Faded blues]

http://m.utsandiego.com/news/2015/mar/04/chargers-stadium-optimism-mission-valley-acee/

[TTK]

I think it's a great idea, but the team will certainly consider that their own revenue, just like they took the naming rights off the table too.

Fabiani gave a bit of a strange answer to that during his chat last week regarding naming rights.

Q: Mr. Fabiani, from what I understand, the naming rights money for a stadium is typically split between the city and the team but there's been talk that the Chargers are wanting 100% of this money. Is this true?

A: On naming rights, various cities have managed the split various ways; there is no one solution. But to date, over a 14 year period, the City has yet to put up a single dollar for this project, so there has never been the need to negotiate a split.

[Wheels]

Just more examples of externalizing the costs and internalizing the profits. I'm pretty sure the city has spent money on this issue, because they've spent time on it, and lots of studies, meetings, etc.

[TTK]

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2015/mar/04/chargers-stadium-optimism-mission-valley-acee

Sun peeking through stadium clouds

By Kevin Acee 1:04 P.M.MARCH 4, 2015

The tide is ... slowly … ever-so-subtly … turning.

Talk to people on all sides, those intimately involved and others pulling strings and offering support from a distance, and it is easily sensed. In fact, some are quietly allowing that it is real.

There is actual momentum toward getting a stadium built in San Diego.

“I think there is an energy developing that we can do this,” one of the region's power players said Tuesday. “This city has some difficulty convincing itself it can do things.”

Most of those who spoke to the U-T this week about this topic did not want to do so publicly at this point. That’s understandable. There remain many unknowns, and everyone involved is aware there are numerous obstacles to navigate over a long road to possible success.

A few people also cautioned that there is lingering distrust between all factions. A characterization that popped up numerous times was that each side is being “strategic” in its dealings. Two highly placed sources said they consider the chances of a stadium getting built are “50/50.” People in city government are mindful, too, because they are hearing from them, that there is a large constituency that is vehemently opposed to public financing for stadium contruction.

But for the first time, maybe in months, the past few days have seen a shedding of pessimism and outlooks that could aptly be called sunny.

“I’ve been optimistic since the very beginning,” Mayor Kevin Faulconer said Wednesday. “But, yeah, you can feel it out there.”

There is another significant factor emerging: Chargers president Dean Spanos, according to multiple sources, is believed to have accepted that the downtown site is a non-starter. He and others believe hoteliers will never give up their opposition to the JMI Realty proposal for a convention center annex, which the Chargers hoped to join with a multi-purpose stadium.

Spanos’ recognition that building on the current Qualcomm Stadium site as the path of least resistance and his willingness to possibly embrace it as a viable site is good news, because that is where the Citizens Stadium Advisory Group is largely focused. The task force is still doing its due diligence on a possible downtown stadium, but most of its conversations center on Mission Valley. It is believed the group will make that announcement within two weeks.

“We’re going to come up with a plan that makes sense,” Faulconer said.

The task force’s final proposal could come within 60 days.

Civic and business leaders are offering help. Meetings between the principles are being set up. Spanos and Faulconer are communicating regularly. Former Chargers players are poised to become involved in the cause, including LaDainian Tomlinson, who is scheduled to meet with Faulconer on Thursday.

The mayor and others are buoyed by the increased involvement of San Diego State, which owns property and has the financial resources to contribute toward the stadium, and the county’s willingness to become a financial stakeholder.

“It’s cobbling together a number of things, which is the San Diego way,” one business leader said. “You put a lot of entities together … eventually they get enough money.”

Still, this will take cooperation from the Chargers, a willingness by the team to accept creative solutions. It is still considered a near certainty by some that the Chargers will find problems with whatever plan the task force presents.

But, given the contentious nature of the dealings as recently as two weeks ago and the continued maneuvers by the Chargers in Los Angeles, cautious optimism at this point is akin to jubilation.