Council Rejects Chargers’ Request
The San Diego Chargers, rebuffed by the city council in an attempt to begin new stadium talks, are close to exercising the escape clause in their Qualcomm Stadium lease.
“We’re sitting down to evaluate everything,” Charger consultant Mark Fabiani said Wednesday. “I can’t say it’s a fait accompli, but when you work for seven months and the other party won’t talk, it does not leave you with many alternatives.”
He added: “When people refuse to even talk, it causes you to wonder how committed [they] are to maintaining a relationship.”
In a 5-4 vote Tuesday, the city council rejected an offer by the Chargers to conduct private talks with city officials about ending the current lease, which runs through 2020 and includes two highly controversial elements: a ticket guarantee and a renegotiation clause.
The chosen alternative is for a specially appointed task force to handle the discussions, but that 15-member group is not expected to file its initial report until mid-February -- exceeding the team’s 60-day triggering window, which began Dec. 1.
“I’m not going to roll over for any sports team,” said Brian Maienschein, one of five council members to vote against beginning talks.
The Chargers have informed San Diego Mayor Dick Murphy they are willing to do away with the current lease and sign a two-year deal to stay where they are. That would clear the way to put a new stadium and development of the Qualcomm site on the November 2004 ballot. The caveat to that deal, though, is the city cannot throw up any legal roadblocks if the Chargers wanted to leave after the 2004 season.
