Fabiani open to discuss Terminal site

Brandon Stone
San Diego StadiumWatch


Chargers spokesman Mark Fabiani is open to stadium ideas about the proposed deck on the 10th Avenue Terminal.

"We are always open to any new and promising idea," Fabiani said, "and we meet with people all the time who call us with thoughts and plans."

Last week, San Diego Community Solutions announced their desire to build a deck at the terminal, saying it would help maritime service in San Diego Bay and allow for more parking downtown. SDCS is working with engineering company CH2M Hill to develop the terminal space.

"We will be happy to meet with anyone and everyone who wants to help," Fabiani said. "In the end, we aren’t going to do anything that is against the interests of our friends in organized labor. Nor do we want to become bogged down in a dispute with the Port Commission or other government agencies."

Fabiani's main concern is the cost of building on top of the deck.

"The kind of deck being talked about is enormously expensive to build," Fabiani said. "The New York Jets proposed a similar deck over the rail yards on Manhattan’s west side, and cost estimates for the deck were in the many hundreds of millions of dollars."

Scott Maloni, public affairs consultant for San Diego Community Solutions, has the same concerns.

“The odds of the stadium there are slim,” he said. “The finances aren’t put together … there’s not enough events. I’m not sure a football stadium makes sense.”

According to Maloni, the goal of the measure isn’t to instantly build on the terminal, but to amend the master plan to allow construction on the terminal. The group has started collecting signatures in the five cities that represent the Port Commission, which runs the area. If the group collects enough votes, the deck proposal could be on the November ballot.

“The initiative doesn’t have a project, it has a process,” Maloni said. “Some of the building could be for a convention center or for hotels or a sports arena. It could be a stadium.”

“It is premature to get caught up in any project,” he said.