Chargers fans blast possible move by team at hearings with NFL officials

Fans of the San Diego Chargers vented their frustrations to NFL executives Wednesday during the league’s second stop on a three-city tour of relocation hearings.

With the Chargers considering a move to Carson, their supporters pushed back by filling the bottom level of Spreckels Theatre downtown, wearing team apparel and making their case for why the club should stay. The league contingent will move on to Oakland on Thursday night.

As was the case in St. Louis on Tuesday, the NFL executives on stage were Eric Grubman, the NFL’s executive vice president; Chris Hardart, vice president of corporate development; Cynthia Hogan, senior vice president of public policy and league attorney Jay Bauman.

The attendees were required to register for free passes to participate in the event.

The crowd in San Diego, estimated by the NFL at 450 fans, was even more boisterous than the passionate group of about 800 in St. Louis, particularly in the first hour of the three-hour meeting, breaking into a “No Way L.A.!” chant before the league executives took the stage. The loudest catcalls were reserved for Chargers special counsel Mark Fabiani, who opened the hearing with a welcome that was mostly drowned out by boos.

“We have done everything we could think of over the last 14 years to try and find a stadium solution in San Diego,” Fabiani said. He added: “The one thing that’s clear through all of that time is the stadium dilemma here in San Diego has nothing to do with the great fans of the Chargers.”

Fabiani, who has spearheaded the push for a new stadium for more than a decade, for years in San Diego and during the last year in Carson, was a lightning rod in the hearing. Fans accused him of convincing Chargers owner Dean Spanos to walk away from the negotiating table with the city with a potential deal within reach.

The Chargers have contended the city has wasted too much time over the years, and now is trying to rush through a plan that has no hope of succeeding.

In a written summary of his planned comments, Fabiani said, “We believe that if we go along with the city’s strategy, we will suffer the same fate as the city’s recent convention center expansion project. Many years of wasted work. Many millions of wasted dollars. And zero results in the end.”

A common theme among many of those who made comments was San Diego deserves more time to put together a stadium plan, and that it’s the Rams, not the Chargers, who belong in Los Angeles.

Said San Diego City Councilman Scott Sherman, among the commenters: “I know Mr. Fabiani just got up there and said a lot of things that he’s been doing from the very beginning. His entire argument from the get-go is to try to convince you all that this city can’t get its act together. I’m here to tell you that’s the furthest thing from the truth.”

The fans, loosely limited to three minutes per comment, variously told stories about rooting for the Chargers throughout the years, derided the Carson site as “a sewer” and “a toxic dump,” touted the viability of San Diego as an NFL market, and voiced their frustration with an organization many believe is hell-bent on leaving town. A handful of speakers complimented the Spanos family for its contribution to the San Diego community.

In an interview with the Mighty 1090 radio last week, Fabiani said the Chargers intend to file an application for relocation. The Rams and Raiders have not said the same, although it’s widely believed they will eventually do so.

Scott Miller of San Diego, among the commenters, predicted the vast majority of Chargers fans will not follow the team to L.A. and make the drive north for games.

“You love the team, but I’ll watch it on TV,” Miller said. “They’re not going to have a stadium full of Chargers fans. If whatever they’re saying comes true, and they’re sharing a stadium with the Raiders, they’re going to have a stadium full of Raider fans. The Raiders are going to have nine home games a year.”

Another commenter compared the Chargers’ relationship with the city to a failing marriage.

“The Chargers are like the cheating spouse that wants any excuse to leave,” he said. “And the City of San Diego is the spouse that keeps wanting to go to marriage counseling.”