The San Diego Chargers point person on the push for a downtown stadium said Tuesday that, first and foremost, the team is moving full speed ahead with their initiative for a new downtown stadium-convention center.
"We have no intention of withdrawing our ballot, we're locked and loaded, we've filed our petition, we've published it," said Fred Maas, special advisor to Chargers Chairman Dean Spanos. "We're in the process now of the waiting period."
Maas praised hoteliers for keeping an open mind on the tax and its potential rewards.
Maas was speaking to NBC 7 San Diego at a mixer organized by the San Diego Press Club Tuesday night.
“They’ve not made a decision yet, we respect that, we understand they're shouldering a large, most of the burden of financing this outside of the contributions of the team and league are making, so we're respecting that," Maas said.
He declined to weigh in on the recent spat between City Attorney Jan Goldsmith and local lawyer Cory Briggs who is spearheading another initiative which could include a stadium.
Goldsmith identified several potential red flags with the "Citizens Plan."
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Briggs called his remarks a calculated maneuver to disenfranchise the public.
The Chargers don't think they have to pick sides, because they say they're staying put with their plan.
The team can start collecting signatures on April 23 but Briggs says the San Diego Tourism Marketing District has already agreed to throw its support behind his plan. If true, Briggs said the move would essentially kill the Chargers' downtown stadium proposal.
"I take issue with those folks who've never been through the process and this gloom and doom scenario that just isn't born out in the facts," Maas said.
"If you're a resident and voter in the city of San Diego and you don't stay in a hotel room in the city of SD, you'll never pay a dime for this convention center stadium facility we're proposing downtown," Maas said.
