This place is a dump

[oneinchpunch]

[lightningrod13]

An Insult to Dumps Everywhere

Qualcomm Stadium, home of the Chargers, is a decrepit hulk, but the city government’s comical dysfunction means a deal for a new venue is as far off as ever

ByJim Trotter

When Peter King approached me about writing a weekly West Coast-centric column for his website, I found it attractive not only because I believe Sports Illustrated’s football coverage has had an eastern bias, but also because it meant shorter flights from my home in San Diego.

But then the reality hit me. It also meant more time in dumps disguised as NFL stadiums, namely O.co Coliseum in Oakland and Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego. (Candlestick Park, thank goodness, has just one more year left; the 49ers move into their new building in Santa Clara in 2014.)

Actually, calling Qualcomm a dump really is an insult to dumps. The JumboTron is so old that some replacement parts can only be found on eBay. There’s no capacity for a hi-definition video board or for new electronic signage. In an era in which the NFL is trying to heighten the stadium experience to allow fans to keep up with scores and stats from other games via their smartphones, connectivity is limited in part by structural issues within the stadium. (At the preseason opener this year, one Chargers exec could not communicate via email with his staff during the game because of poor wifi.) White trash bags cover large electrical connectors that hang from a lower wall, and cracks are visible in the concrete in various places. Heavy rains often cause the drainage systems to back up, which is why the team has rubber boots on hand for fans whose seats are flooded. It’s not uncommon for sewage to leak onto the field and into the visiting locker room. According to an independent audit performed for the city, the stadium needs $70 million in maintenance and repairs.

Yes, I know. Stop whining. Things could be worse. I could have to critique One Direction for a living. But what’s especially irritating is that things don’t have to be this way. For the last decade, the Chargers have proposed a variety of plans for a new stadium that would keep the team in San Diego. The latest is a downtown venue near the convention center and the Padres’ Petco Park. Based on the cost of the Niners’ new stadium, the Chargers’ project would come to an estimated $1.1 billion, with $300 million of that from public sources. Whether you object on principle to any public financing for sports venues or not, the simple fact is that the Chargers don’t even have a viable entity to negotiate with. Their management is dealing with the most dysfunctional city government in the country. That is not hyperbole.

At one point in the last decade San Diego had four “mayors” in five years. One announced his resignation five months after a controversial re-election win over an 11th-hour write-in candidate, and his replacement then resigned after three days as acting mayor when he was convicted (though later acquitted in a new trial) of conspiracy, wire fraud and extortion.

In February, former mayor Maureen O’Connor admitted to federal prosecutors that she had taken more than $2 million from the charitable organization of her late husband, Jack-in-the-Box founder Robert Peterson, to feed a gambling habit, and that over the years she had wagered more than $1 billion at casinos across the country. And current mayor Bob Filner has effectively pulled the emergency brake on city business because he faces at least 15 accusations of sexual assault and mounting calls for his resignation.

The fact that Chargers president and CEO Dean Spanos hasn’t packed up the team already—and there is a gaping NFL void two hours up the coast in Los Angeles—speaks volumes about his sincerity about keeping the Chargers in town, although many of his critics will refuse to accept that. I’ve butted heads with Spanos on multiple occasions over the years, but one thing I’ve never questioned is his commitment to staying in town and doing a deal that’s fair to both sides.

His family name means everything to him. As I’ve written before, when his football people are considering a potentially controversial move, his input often is along the lines of: Don’t embarrass my family. He realizes that if he moves the Chargers, he will be to San Diego what Art Modell was to Cleveland. And if he does a deal that gets over on the city while keeping the Chargers in town, well, that would be equally unpleasant.

But how do you do a negotiate with a metropolis that is rudderless? “The city needs mayoral leadership for big projects, and right now it is not there,” city attorney Jan Goldsmith said in a statement to The MMQB. “But, we will get through this turmoil.”

Spanos is clearly frustrated, but not broken. “We’ve been over 10 years in this process, and there have been times where we thought we were close,” he said. “But we may be the furthest we’ve been from getting a stadium done because of what’s happened locally. It’s really a sad situation. But we’re not going to stop trying to get a deal done. I haven’t given up. It’s still the greatest place to live. This is where I’m from. This is where I want to be—and that means a lot. But this is a business, and we have to compete with 31 other clubs. It’s my responsibility to put this organization in the best financial position it can be in to be competitive with the 31 other clubs.”

Spanos recognizes the financial issues facing the city, which is why his group is trying to structure a deal in which any public money (more on that in a minute) would not come from the general fund that’s used for police, fire, road repairs and the like. Some residents are against spending any public money on a proposed project for the Chargers, but the reality is that the city already is spending roughly $15 million a year to maintain Qualcomm and the San Diego Sports Arena, both of which it owns.

Spread those costs over the seven years remaining on the team’s lease after this season, add in the $70 million in deferred maintenance that’s due, and the Chargers believe that by bonding against that money it would cover the $300 million public contribution the team expects to seek. The city also would then be able to sell the 166 acres at the Qualcomm site, as well as the parcel that the Sports Arena sits on.

It’s a significant vision—something the area has lacked for years—because it incorporates three different parts of town: the Qualcomm site in Mission Valley; Point Loma, where the Sports Arena sits; and downtown. But the city needs strong leadership to help get a deal done, and there’s no indication such leadership currently exists at City Hall. Without it, San Diego is sure to lose the team.

My words, not Spanos’s. Just do the math.

The Chargers rank in the bottom quartile in the NFL in revenue. Teams share national television money, but local monies, such as those from TV and radio deals, suite sales, sponsorships and advertising, are kept by the individual teams. The Chargers are among the have-nots in this area.

For instance, if they sell all 113 of their suites at Qualcomm, at an average of $125,000 per suite, that totals just over $14 million. If Dallas sells out its 300 suites, at an average of $250,000, that’s $75 million for the Cowboys. In other words, suite sales alone amount to an advantage of more than $60 million in local revenue. Such differences affect how teams spend on their coaches and how they structure contracts for cash flow.

The 47-year-old Qualcomm was originally built for baseball and football and was more suited to the former—which becomes glaringly obvious when visiting a modern stadium. For one, the seats are closer to the field in new stadiums, whereas they flow away from the field in Qualcomm. The first row of seats in San Diego is approximately 70 feet from the playing field, nearly twice the distance compared to Invesco Field in Denver and the refurbished Soldier Field in Chicago. And many of those front row seats at Qualcomm—great for those old Padres games—are obstructed for football.

With all the turmoil in city government, the Chargers’ path to a new stadium looks just as obstructed for now. So, Candlestick for another year. Qualcomm and the Oakland coliseum for who knows how much longer. Suddenly I’m starting to wonder if this West Coast assignment was a good deal after all.

I'll say this much,if it means for the Chargers staying in this city so be it, I'll take the so-called dump any day. If they bolt for Farmer's Field in downtown San Diego,I'm done with them,
because I won't support the NFL Los Angeles market.

[BlazingBolt]

Thank you Trotter for trying to get the truth out there.

[ArtistFormerlyKnownAsBKR]

Good read. Thanks for posting.

she had wagered more than $1 billion at casinos across the country

Whoa.

[TTK]

We vote in some winners here don't we...

[SDFan]

I'll say this much,if it means for the Chargers staying in this city so be it, I'll take the so-called dump any day. If they bolt for Farmer's Field in downtown San Diego,I'm done with them,
because I won't support the NFL Los Angeles market.

there's NO Farmer's Field in SD, or LA for that matter either.

[Panamamike]

I'll say this much,if it means for the Chargers staying in this city so be it, I'll take the so-called dump any day. If they bolt for Farmer's Field in downtown San Diego,I'm done with them,
because I won't support the NFL Los Angeles market.

The stadium is embarrassing and completely substandard in all respects. The only thing in a worse state would be your local politics. Seriously, how the hell do those clowns keep getting elected there? 4 mayors in 5 years. Wow. Why not just hold a lottery every week for the title "mayor for a week". It would probably be an improvement; hard to imagne it could be worse. For sure there would be a better chance of getting a stadium deal done.

[Drawkcab_daer_nac_selohssa_ylno]

Trotter could be our modern day Jack Murphy. Jim should see what Murphy had to do to make The Murph happen.

[ArtistFormerlyKnownAsBKR]

Trotter could be our modern day Jack Murphy. Jim should see what Murphy had to do to make The Murph happen.

Nice to see you around, Backs!

[BlazingBolt]

There is a large population in the area but only a small percentage of it is within the actual city limits. The county government for the most part is very well run. City should have elected Ron Roberts from the county but he always lost. I have actually never lived with in the city limits and have never voted in a city election having been born and raised in east county.

I do think the team has offered some good deals to the city over the course of there effort. Something needs to be done about the stadium and sports arena. The city should actively be trying to improve the situation with these properties and doing so in a way that keeps the football team makes a ton if sense. There is just a huge segment of voters who say absolutely no city dollars should go to help the team. The ticket guarantee that got in on oconnors watch really hurt the voters impression of the team.

[ArtistFormerlyKnownAsBKR]

Yeah, but that's just stupid. Why do people hold a grudge toward the Chargers? The city signed off on the guarantee. Why would the Chargers not do that deal? Again, the people that elected Filner are the ones that elected the morons that came up with the ticket guarantee. See any similarities? Has nothing to do with the Bolts.

And as you say, "Fine, don't bankroll a stadium. Just keep throwing bad money after good maintaining sites that are decaying and are losing all utility to the community." It's an abomination that The Murph is so decrepit and the city is still paying big, big money to "maintain" the backed up sewage crib. But no SB's are in the future, the Bowl situation is backwards ass and other events are just self-selecting themselves out. Just stupid.

Trotter is totally right. The stadium debacle reflects a decade or two of utter mismanagement at the highest levels in SD. My own personal take is that the best and brightest in SD are doing their own thing. The rest (dregs) fight over city management.

[Lightnin']

...gentlemen-the end game is nearer than most of us want to realize.

Yes; the Chargers are a San Diego fixture/institution/asset; choose your own descriptor.

But-at their core, they are a business and the Spanos' are business people who own the business known as the San Diego Chargers.

This mess has been going on for a decade. I've stopped flying across the country to see 'em in Qualcomm; I'll go to newer, more accessible
venues closer to my home; endure bad weather and sitting among folks who support our opponent. Gonna do it twice this year.

Some future AM, San Diegans may awaken to the news the Chargers are headed out-of-town. For good. There'll be no retaining
the name, colors, or logo; these aren't the Browns. The new locale doesn't have to be Los Angeles-though it may be.

Trust me-I love coming to San Diego, and I don't like the way this is playing out.