On Wednesday, the Chargers announced that roughly 8,000 tickets were still unsold for Sunday's home opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars. If they aren't purchased by 1:15 p.m. on Thursday, the game will be blacked out in the local area.
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The franchise hasn't had a blackout since 2004, a streak of 48 straight regular-season home games. To keep the streak alive, the league could extend the deadline an additional 24 hours, but Chargers executive vice president A.J. Spanos said Wednesday he does not anticipate an extension.
"We're not optimistic the blackout will be lifted," Spanos said.
The blackout has been a possibility for some time.
Citing the economy, Chargers President and CEO Alex Spanos told the North County Times last week he believed Sunday's game would “most likely be blacked out.” Spanos also noted that the franchise hasn't raised ticket prices for the past three years.
There are other factors to the Chargers' blackout besides dollars and cents.
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With only 3,000 available tickets as of noon Wednesday, the Detroit Lions are currently in much better shape to sell out their Sunday home opener than the Chargers. The Lions face the Philadelphia Eagles, who provide a larger draw than the Jaguars.
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