Who would hitch their wagon to the City of San Diego's process for getting new land projects approved? Not the San Diego Chargers, apparently.
As San Diego representatives met with NFL officials in New York Tuesday, the San Diego Chargers and the mayor’s Citizens Stadium Advisory Group sparred in the media.
NFL officials reviewed San Diego's progress on a new stadium proposed for Mission Valley and discussed the project's work plan and schedule moving forward.
Fast tracking an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) is key to the project moving forward.
During today's meeting, city leaders say they can get a report approved in time for a January 2016 vote.
Chargers special counsel Mark Fabiani said that’s not possible.
He said there was nothing city leaders could do to create “a legally defensible EIR in less than two months.”
“No responsible private business – including the Chargers – would ever hitch its wagon to the City’s misbegotten EIR strategy,” Fabiani told NBC 7.
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Tony Manolatos, spokesperson for CSAG, said Fabiani’s reaction is proof the team is more interested in moving than staying in San Diego
“Does Fabiani think building a stadium on a former landfill of toxic site will not be challenged environmentally that there won’t be lawsuits,” he asked. “Come on.”
A planning meeting is slated for July 15 at Qualcomm Stadium to go over a draft EIR for the Mission Valley site recommended by CSAG.
The New York meeting lasted about an hour and included NFL executive vice president Eric Grubman and other NFL senior officials.
NFL officials are scheduled to travel to San Diego to meet with the City-County negotiating team in late July, according to Matt Awbrey, Deputy Chief of Staff & Chief of Communications to Mayor Kevin Faulconer.
Fabiani attended a town hall in Carson where the team has said it's in negotiations with the Oakland Raiders to build a joint-use stadium.
Meanwhile, the developer involved in negotiations for a new NFL stadium in Oakland tells ESPN he met a deadline to submit plans for approval by city leaders.
Developer Floyd Kephart told ESPN a deal is possible. "It's not nearly as complicated as what's going on in San Diego," he said.
