San Diego’s mayor revealed how he plans to finance a new stadium in Mission Valley on Monday, the same day NFL owners met to discuss the San Diego Chargers negotiations with the city.
Mayor Kevin Faulconer said the progress report he was presenting, with Qualcomm Stadium as a backdrop, was the same report the NFL owners received from the San Diego-region team in Chicago.
The city’s draft EIR is complete and ready for public review, and the city released new conceptual drawings crafted by Populous, a stadium design firm used by NFL owners in other parts of the country.
Faulconer also revealed how he plans to finance a new multi-sports stadium on the site of Qualcomm Stadium.
For every $1 of public money spent, $2 of private money will be spent, while the public contributions would be capped at 32 percent. Under the proposed plan, the Chargers would be responsible for operating and maintaining the stadium. Faulconer pointed out that under the current agreement with the Chargers, the public is responsible for those costs.
He said any deal will require voter approval.
“If we don’t have a deal, we won’t have a project,” Faulconer said as he urged the Chargers to return to the negotiating table.
“Not a dime will be spent on any construction unless voters approve it,” he added.
However, the Chargers themselves saw many sticking points in the plan, including the idea of using $350 million from the city's and county's general funds.
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“Both history and current polling show it will be extraordinarily difficult to persuade voters to devote hundreds of millions of General Fund tax dollars to a stadium,” said Chargers Special Counsel Mark Fabiani on Monday afternoon.
Read more about the Chargers' reaction by clicking here.
San Diego City Attorney Jan Goldsmith said the city will meet the NFL and the Chargers' deadline to have an election by Jan. 12.
"The ball is in their court to determine do they want an NFL franchise in the nation's eight largest city," Goldsmith asked.
NFL owners are meeting Monday and Tuesday in Chicago where they’ll hear the latest on the San Diego Chargers’ $1.75 billion Carson stadium proposal as well as a competing proposal by the St. Louis Rams owner.
Chargers City of SD Mission Valley Presentation (Text)
While no decisions will be made, the meetings will help shape the road map for the possible relocation of a team or teams to Los Angeles, the nation's second largest TV market.
City leaders and Chargers negotiators remain at odds over the feasibility of the Mission Valley proposal.
All of this is happening as the Chargers prepare for their first preseason game Thursday.
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