Fabiani takes college activists to ‘summer school’

Chargers’ special counsel Q&A highlights active day for new group
By Brandon Stone
San Diego Stadium Watch

About 25 members of the student activist group Bringing Awareness To The Chargers Stadium Search discussed stadium negotiations with Chargers special counsel Mark Fabiani Thursday at the Promenade in Mission Valley.

Fabiani talked to the group for an hour, breaking down what the team has attempted to do over the past six years, the positives and negatives with both potential sites in Chula Vista, and what the group could do to further their cause.

Fabiani said that grassroots groups such as BACSS are vital because “they are genuine [and] not something that someone has organized for political purposes.”

“[It’s good] to have that kind of support out there and to be able to tell elected officials that this is the kind of support we have,” Fabiani said. “We have guys that are coming together on their own; spending their own money … they’re renting rooms out of their own pocket. That’s impressive.”

The youth base of the group makes Fabiani even more interested. Unlike other talks he has done in San Diego County, BACSS is made up of younger people gathered through social networks such as Facebook, as well as message boards.

“We feel like this is a lot more different than other grassroots movements,” group leader Tom Channick said. “… I hope that [Fabiani] opens up his arms and embraces our movement.”

Fabiani feels that organizations who tie themselves with the Chargers would be open to more scrutiny for their real intentions. “We’ll be helpful if we can, but we also want these groups to remain independent,” Fabiani said.

The members of BACSS have far-reaching goals for their organization over the next few months. The group is planning mass mailings to Chula Vista residents, billboards, rallies, and various Internet-related projects such as advertising, e-mail lists and podcasts – all of which emphasize the newer trends of publicizing causes. In a world where presidential candidates succeed through web functionality, BACSS pushes the youth movement.

“You have the ability to influence by what you write about a story,” Fabiani said.

The group’s next move is to hold a rally with up to 200 near the South Bay Power Plant, tentatively scheduled for July 5th.

“We’re going to go out to sports places and trade shows, set up tents and publicize that rally,” Channick said.

Fabiani made it clear to the group that while cooperation with local government and quality locations have been a plus, the numbers of the operation loom over the project. Fabiani noted that the overall cost of the project has doubled in cost since the original proposal of a stadium in Mission Valley funded by 60 acres of condos. The original project would have been $450 to $600 million. Current projections land at $1.2 billion.

Questions were also raised about Ed Roski’s plans for a stadium in the City of Industry. Fabiani did not hide the relationship between the Spanos family and Roski, and said that the Chargers informed Roski they were still dedicated to the Chula Vista situation.

“I don’t know how [Roski] gets it done with any team this quickly,” Fabiani said. “There’s a lot to get done, no matter what team it is.”

BACSS began in February 2007 after Channick saw trends of apathy about what the Chargers were doing.

“Some of us were shocked by the lack of urgency around us,” Channick said. “[People] aren’t even aware of the controversies.”

It is that sense of urgency that drives BACSS to do the hard work sitting in front of them. As far as Channick is concerned, BACSS is ready for it.

“We’re not going to let this team go without a fight,” Channick said.

Slideshow of the BACSS Meeting with Mark Fabiani

Links: Election Fallout, Port's Open House

Today was spent at the BACCS event, and a report on that can be expected tomorrow. In the meantime, how about those elections?

The important races with the stadium in mind were seats three and four on the Chula Vista City Council. In the next few days, expect to see how all four candidates feel about a stadium in Chula Vista. Another proposition was shot down that would have restricted the height of buildings in the city, similar to the rule San Diego has.

Mayor Sanders won re-election outright last night, and today said that he will not assist the Chargers in staying in Mission Valley during his new term in office.

As for the Port of San Diego, the Enviromental Impact Report concerning the bay front is up for public review from now until July 8th. An open house meeting is scheduled for June 16 at the South Bay Fish and Grill. You can find the EIR here.

New activists raise awareness both in group and online

Group to hold meeting with Fabiani on June 5th
By Brandon Stone
San Diego Stadium Watch

Thinking that his city is on the verge of losing its team, Tom Channick has had enough. Instead of waiting for his nightmares to become real, it was time for the concerned citizens to make a difference.

“The only people that are speaking up are negative,” the 21-year old San Diego State student said.

Through talking to others in person and through the Facebook network, concerns are turning into a new chance for Channick to keep the team of his youth in San Diego.

That spirit of change fuels Bringing Awareness of the Chargers Stadium Search, a new grassroots group focused on keeping the Chargers in San Diego County. The group is holding a public meeting at 2 p.m. on the June 5th at the Promenade in Mission Valley. Chargers special counsel Mark Fabiani will be taking questions on how the process has gone so far and what the team is attempting to accomplish.

“If we get some good feedback from this event, we can have a rally at the same time as the [release of] the feasibility study,” Channick said.

Channick started BACSS in February 2008, after sensing apathy and disbelief from San Diego residents. The group is currently building a resource website that will have daily articles, e-mail lists and printable signs and stickers. The group also wants to start direct-mail advertising to Chula Vista residents, as well as advertising via billboards.

“People don’t think this is real,” 21-year-old site designer Peter Nudo said. “By doing this, we’re trying to keep people aware.”

BACSS hopes that they can give the Chargers local evidence that all types of San Diegans want the Chargers to remain in the county.

“The team feels like they can wait longer because there are people behind them,” Channick said.

Channick’s group is mainly for college students and middle-aged adults. It is primarily web-based - its Facebook group has more than 200 people.

“Fabiani’s been looking for something like this,” Channick said of the group’s youth movement. He cited how this group’s makeup shows a lifetime commitment to the stadium that other older grassroots groups cannot provide. Group members don’t just include Charger fans. People from other communities in California are taking part, even those who want to see football in locales such as Los Angeles – but not at San Diego’s expense.

The group also wants to convince city leaders that the Chargers’ plans are good for the community.

“You can’t change any city official’s mind without the movement of people,” Channick said.

The group has thrown its support behind Brian Manscheim and John McCann already, stating that they are looking out for the best interests of the Chargers.

“If [the politicians] know they’re the last remaining hope, they’ll bend to the pressure,” Channick said.

While Channick and his crew believe that Qualcomm Stadium has been good to San Diego and holds many memories, it is time for the team to move on to a new home. And with time running out, this group believes in the urgency of now.

“Now it is the 11th hour,” Channick said.

BACSS can be found on Facebook by searching for “Students 4 A New Stadium” or going to newstadium4sd.com.

Brick by brick, we're building it up

So things have changed around here a little bit...

I'm still getting some ... extra pages, we'll call them ... set up elsewhere. But this is the bulk of it. Some stuff may stop working randomly over the next 72, but getting around the site should be fine. There are things to look forward to in the near future if you're a member of Digg or Facebook.

In the meantime, here's the Union-Tribune article on the Chargers vs. Sanders, as well as Fabiani's letter.

Chargers getting caught up in mayoral race

The Chargers are letting the public know they favor no candidate in the San Diego mayoral race between incumbent Jerry Sanders and Steve Francis in the wake of a controversial phone banking comment.

According to the Chargers, Sanders' campaign has told voters through the telecommuncations group that Francis has attempted to Republican special interest groups. Chargers owner Alex Spanos is included in that list. Fabiani called these actions "dishonest and hypocritical."

Chargers special counsel Mark Fabiani sent a letter to the Sanders campaign, asking them to desist with the calls that are "deliberately designed to leave voters with the false impression that ... the Chargers support your challenger, Steve Francis."

Francis' campaign is mainly self-funded.

According to Fabiani, Sanders approached the Chargers in late April asking for donations, to which the Chargers declined, claiming they were not supporting any candidates in the race.
Spanos has given millions to Republicans over the last few decades. Since 1980, he has given more than $6.7 million to Republican or special interest groups, including $20,000 to the California Republican party in 2007.

Site Redesign Coming This Week

All the new stuff is coming in this week. Things will start looking different as early as Wednesday. I have a couple new features coming that you all are really going to like.

We'll also hve some coverage of this Port Commission's decisions regarding the bay front Master Plan. You can read more about it here for now.

The enivonmental impact report is very interesting to go over, but the commission makes it clear they have accepted the demand for development in the region. There is a notable lack of stadium talk, and based on conversations with the commission this is because the group doesn't like to deal in what they consider to be hypotheticals. If there isn't a proposal going to vote or an application filled out, they don't want to deal with it.

Chula Vista cops ready for stadium task

Can law enforcement take on a new stadium?
By Brandon Stone
San Diego Stadium Watch

The gruff voice of public information officer Bernard Gonzales confidently says what over 212,000 Chula Vistans need to know. Can the Chula Vista police department patrol and control if there’s a new stadium in their town?

“I don’t think there any question that we can do that,” Gonzales said.

It is a question that hasn’t been addressed as much as others since Chula Vista began its talks with the San Diego Chargers. Lost in the shuffle of taxes, environment and feasibility is safety. Stadiums attract many things – tourism, events and commercial interests are just the tip of the iceberg – but the core of all of it is people. The problem is that it doesn’t designate which people it attracts. For every Charger fan that would come through a Chula Vista turnstile to cheer for their team, another could come in with a knife or a gun – or some thing even worse.

“We have discussed various options in very general terms with the City of Chula Vista,” Chargers special counsel Mark Fabiani said, “but since we don't even have a final site at this point, those discussions have not moved beyond the very preliminary stages. These issues are very important for host cities, of course, and they deserve careful consideration.”

The department has been part of the city council’s talks with the Chargers, but hasn’t been primarily focused on.

“I don’t think we were the first people on the list to be informed,” Gonzales said, “but certainly during meeting with higher-ups at the city the police department was included in the loop. I’m sure early on in the process the question had to have been asked – what do you think about this stadium idea? Could the police department handle it? City leaders have certainly asked that before.”

Despite its recent financial woes, Chula Vista is still a city on the move. Population has rocketed and homes that now contribute to the city’s budget problems were once booming with new renters and owners. The police department had that in mind when building their current station in 2004. That same station will be depended on to strategize in case a stadium comes to the city.

“The new police station was built for expansion into the future,” Gonzales said. “It took a police department that was crammed into a small 50,000 square foot facility and placed that department into a 150,000 square foot facility. … Chula Vista is growing, and the building was meant to serve the community for the next 25 to 30 years, if not longer.”

Protection and safety in stadiums are nothing new. According to crime studies, over half of U.S. football stadiums are located in high-risk crime neighborhoods. More and more stories of violence in parking lots come out. Traffic accidents on highways and streets go up.

The people who run Qualcomm Stadium battle this every season. The stadium features a long list of rules for those that come into the area, and the stadium is policed by a mix of San Diego police on foot, car and horseback along with Elite Security and the Highway Patrol keep the area as safe as they can manage. San Diego Police’s Special Events Unit leads the stadium effort. Lt. Dan Chrisman of Special Events declined to be interviewed for this reporting, noting that the main role of his group is to maintain traffic flow.

Crime inside the Qualcomm Stadium parking lot isn’t a small thing. According to police records on Sundays from September 2007 to November 2007, there is a spike in crime between game days and other days. On September 9, for example, 90 incidents were recorded. They included violations for traffic, public drunkenness, and narcotics. Compare that with September 16, where only four incidents were reported. Of the 466 total incidents recorded, all but 19 were during Chargers games.

In Chula Vista, protection on this scale has not been done on a regular basis. Chula Vista police serve one of the 100 biggest cities in the nation as well as indirectly police visitors and aliens from the Mexican border, but the department has never covered a professional stadium the way one on the bay front or east side would ask them to do. Cities in comparable size to Chula Vista that host major venues are New Orleans, Lubbock and Orlando, and only Lubbock has favorable trends as of late. A bonus for the department is that Chula Vista police chief Rick Emerson hails from Pasadena, where he dealt with UCLA games and the Rose Bowl each year.

No matter what information is out there, the department is still dealing with the unknown.

“Until you see a plan,” Gonzales said, “until you see a stadium, until you get an agreement, it’s hard to react and respond to these things and it’s hard to have an opinion about it because all you have is an idea. You don’t have anything that says ‘Here’s where it’s going to go, here’s what its going to look like, here’s what we’re going to do with it, and here’s how your services are going to be needed.’ Until then, it’s all speculation.”

Even with speculation, organizations still need to be prepared. Officers still need to be trained on how to handle the situation, enforcement has to work on communication skills, and equipment has to be ordered. Everything must fit with the needs of a building that attracts as many as 100,000 people on a given Sunday.

Some of the forces that could be used for Charger games include a special task force sent out by the police department for traffic control while the others work the surface streets like normal.

“If you put a stadium next to a trolley station, it’s going to reduce the traffic … that would be entering the stadium,” Gonzales said. “If you put it out in the middle of a field somewhere and you’ve got to build roads to it that would have a different type of impact.”

The Chargers would still have to plan on hiring their own paid private security. According to Gonzales, it would be up to the Chargers to control the stadium internally.

“The stadium would be under the private ownership of whoever decides to build it,” Gonzales said. “It’s not owned by the police department, so we would not handle it.”

If the stadium ends up on the bay front, then agencies such as the Harbor Patrol, Coast Guard and even U.S. Customs could come into play. The Port of San Diego controls protection there, and currently has vessel patrol for wildlife, a vehicle team, a bike team and mobile command vehicles.

A media relations employee for the Port of San Diego withdrew comment, only saying that they would work within the Chula Vista Bayfront Master Plan to protect the area.

“If the stadium is in our jurisdiction, we become the primary law enforcement agency,” Gonzales said. “Everybody in the county communicates over the same radio system, so communication is not a major issue. We have good relationships with every law enforcement agency in the county. Building those bridges in terms of communicating on a major event isn’t something that is difficult.”

Even if Chula Vista has the time, resources and power to keep a stadium in line, there is still the money issue. With jobs on the line all over Chula Vista, the police department may not be able to afford putting in the funds to upgrade or create service.

The Chargers promised Chula Vista a privately funded stadium. They did not promise funds for protecting it.

“Obviously, teams that have needs that require the local police department,” Gonzales said. “They pay for those needs to mitigate the impact of the city. So we would expect that the same type of things would happen here.”

Fabiani did not commit to funding law enforcement, but did endorse the importance of “evaluate carefully the public safety cost implications” when building a stadium.

“Generally speaking, in the NFL teams and cities split costs in some form or fashion,” Fabiani said. “In some places, for example, teams pay for all services inside the stadium premises and cities provide services outside the stadium.”

Gonzales thinks the police department is ready to take up that task.“The police department doesn’t create its needs,” Gonzales said, “it responds to what the city requires … we respond to what the city needs. …We respond and we adjust. And that’s what we would do with the stadium.”

WatchCast - Podcast #1

The first edition of WatchCast is finally here! However - due to some server hosting problems, it has to be downloaed rather than streamed.

You can get the show here.

In the show, there's a rundown of headlines, some delicious commentary on the state of news media, and some interviews I did with attendees of Chargers mini-camp over the weekend. Hope you enjoy it!

Be back later this week for a little chat about police and stadium protection. Keep safe out there.

Dean Spanos talks about the stadium

Chargers.com has an interview with team president Dean Spanos concerning the team's preparation for the fall and stadium progress.

Spanos says that management is "concentrating all of [its] efforts on the last possible San Diego County sites." He notes the financing study, which he says will come in the next two to three months. He noted the Gaylord site as most critical to the stadium's viability.

Here's part of his comment addressing his relationship with Ed Roski:

“Ed Roski is a friend of mine. Our fathers were in the development business together, and we’ve talked about various development projects over the years. Ed has told me about his plans for a Los Angeles stadium. And I’ve told Ed that the Chargers’ focus continues to be in San Diego. We’ve tried very hard to work something out here.”

A Couple Of Links & The May Rundown

Happy end of April to all the stadium watchers out there. Let's get to the quick links.

-A Nick Canepa column details the links between Ed Roski and Chargers ownership.

Last week, when Roski proposed building an $800 million NFL stadium on 600 acres of pre-zoned land he owns in the lovely City of Industry – about 20 miles east of L.A. – I wondered aloud: “What's in it for him?”
...And, of course, the Chargers immediately came to mind, because they're looking for new digs and can take off following the 2008 season. Do not rule that out.

-Another SDUT article shows a link between campaign finaning and bay front development. Alfred and James Baldwin, developers from Orange County, have spent over $11,000 on various campaigns. The stadium link comes with eastern Chula Vista, a place where the team would most likely build homes and commercial space to help fund a bay front stadium. Baldwin companies have special rights to that land, and would collect major funds if the Chargers built in the area.

Baldwin money has gone to three main people - Mayor Sanders and two candidates for City Council, April Boling and Carl DeMaio. The two have similar plans and backgrounds, and both are not critical of Sanders' policies. Do the Baldwins favor these two with Sanders because they may not want a new stadium in Mission Valley? There are other factors. Both the candidates largely favor remaking infrastructure, something that the Baldwin companies can work on. There is certainly more to this, and Stadium Watch will have it.

Now, let's talk about May. There are a lot of things going on this month - and SDSW has a lot of plans.

On May 4th, SDSW will be at Chargers Mini-Camp in Kearny Mesa taking opinions from Charger fans about the negotiations. This will lead to SDSW's first podcast, coming sometime during that week.

May 6th is the scheduled date for the Port Commission to meet with San Diego Community Solutions about the 10th Avenue Marine Terminal. While SDSW won't be at the meeting, there will certainly be coverage of what takes place.

For May 9th, there will be a feature on the Chula Vista Police Department. Is law enforcement ready and able to control a stadium on the bay front? What steps will they have to take? Does stepping up the force mean more taxes for Chula Vistans?

Finally, the last week of May will come with a new look for SDSW. New colors, fonts, bars, links - we're changing everything for the summer. Stay tuned.

A new stadium to keep watch of?

San Diego isn't the only place in Southern California trying to get a stadium built.

Stephen Roski, a billionaire developer, announced yesterday his plans to build an $800 million stadium in Eastern Los Angeles.

Here is the official report from ESPN and the San Diego Union-Tribune.

I've seen ambition for stadiums in Los Angeles and San Diego over the years, but this is the only time I've seen these ambitions come to fruition. Usually, a random developer expresses plans for a major outfit that will change a city's economy, but they either aren't serious enough or realistic enough.

This is different. Roski means business. He's got the location, he owns it, he wants it.

I spoke to Chargers special counsel Mark Fabiani this morning, and while he expressed that the team stays out of what other cities are doing (a wise choice, considering the smallest leak could do unfixable harm to the Chula Vista project), he did comment of the links that have been made between Roski and the Spanos family.

"The Roski and Spanos families have been friends for many years," Fabiani said, "and Ed Roski and Dean Spanos speak often about potential non-sports real estate deals. During the course of those conversations Ed has explained his stadium concept to Dean. So we know something about Roski’s stadium plans, but we are continuing to focus our efforts on our remaining two options in Chula Vista and working as hard as we can to make something happen there."

So can we turn this into a conspiracy theory? Certainly, but I'd press the brake button on it. This stadium will be Roski's privately funded project, which means he'll want a major return on the investment if he can bring the NFL back to Los Angeles. To me, this would mean a major stake in whatever team came. The Chargers have been owned by Alex Spanos since 1984, and I'm not sure if they are willing to just hand a large piece of a team valued at $826 million in September 2007, especially when that team is so close to stability in the region for the next 50 to 75 years. Would Spanos make more money by selling a piece, paying outrageous rent for Roski's stadium, or staying put?

Spanos has already spent $10 million to fund this project, and will have to spend much more along the way. Would he eschew money spent for this opportunity?

What's interesting about the Forbes value chart is that 12 percent of the team's value comes from outdated Qualcomm Stadium, totaling $100 million. The Chargers have sold out their last 30 home games, which is over 3 years worth of time, but still fall back in revenue. Here are the stadium values of top five teams in overall value:

Dallas: $237 million, 16 percent
Washington: $362 million, 25 percent
New England: $231 million, 19 percent
Houston: $178 million, 17 percent
Philadelphia: $180 million, 17 percent

Make whatever sense of that you want, but four of those fives teams had stadiums either built or completely remodeled since 2000, and the other (Dallas) moves into a new facility in Arlington next year that is expected to generate even more money than the Irving site.

Loss of Chargers leaves hole in Mission Valley’s heart

With the Chargers on the way out, valley residents face an uncertain future
By Brandon Stone
San Diego Stadium Watch

Nestled in the center of the city, Mission Valley operates like the heart of San Diego.
Interstates 5, 8 and 15 act as blood vessels, carrying cells of cars through the city. State Route 163 acts like a right ventricle to Fashion Valley Mall’s atrium, and Westfield Mission Valley the left side of the heart. The cycle continues each day, giving life to the region.

And in this heartland, Qualcomm Stadium represents the pulse.

With the Chargers ready to jettison the center of the city for a new stadium in Chula Vista, questions remain about the stability of Mission Valley with no professional teams left to play there. The area lost the Padres to Petco Park downtown in 2003, and stands to lose the Chargers within the next five years.

Economically, does the reality of losing regular business in the fall cause businesses to straddle back their plans? And what does it do for the 18,000 people that call Mission Valley home? How does the loss change the spirit of Mission Valley?

Living in the shadow

Blending sports and economics is what Chris Dean, the 46-year-old manager of Oggi’s Pizza, deals with each day.

“Football Sundays are huge, regardless of whether the Chargers are here or not,” Dean, who has been managing for three years, said. “They're really huge if the Chargers are here.”

Fans from all corners come to the sports bar at Fenton Marketplace, located directly west of Qualcomm Stadium. Game days transform what is normally a quiet area into another section of the Qualcomm parking lot.

“It's just a lot of fun,” Dean said. “The atmosphere is great and everything. It's just a really fun day. When they moved on to the championship last year ... people just knocking chairs, jumping up and down.”

“There are a lot of people walking around, but everyone's real cool usually,” Mindy Hernandez, a 22-year-old manager at next-door Taco Del Mar said. “There's no rowdiness most of the time.”

It isn’t all a game for Fenton Marketplace. Traffic problems consume the mall on business days as people leave their cars there to walk over for games.

“The parking is a nightmare,” Dean said, “but that's anywhere when you're around a stadium. We have security out in the parking lot to make sure people aren't parking here and walking over to the game.”

“On game days, the parking lot is insane,” 23-year-old Alena Rivas of Ultra Beauty Supply & Salon said. “It's absolutely full … Afterwards, traffic is a problem, but the business it beings into this whole area is worth it.”

Rivas, who has been managing for two years, said her business profits from women who come out on Sundays both for games and for hairdos.

“A lot of women do come here on Sundays and get their hair done and make comments that their husbands or boyfriends are at home watching the game,” Rivas said.

Businesses hope that the one-time passerby feels an attraction to come back. That’s the strategy that fuels McGregor’s Grill, a sports bar to the east of the stadium along San Diego Mission Road.

“That's how we made our name,” manager Paul Bernhardt said. “People would come around because they got to know us and enjoy us. Even when its not sports season, they come back. … They come, they leave their money, and they go.”

“I think the spirit's the big thing,” Dean said. “…As far as financially, obviously other than game days I don't think it'll be a huge burden on us, but [then there’s] the spirit. We're going to miss not having them around.”

Rocking the house

It’s one thing to shop or work next to a stadium. Try living next to it.

One housing complex, Mission Terrace on San Diego Mission Road, knows the experience. They offer affordable housing for families. The complex has been there since 1994.

“It's not bad,” 43-year-old community manager Yvette Santiago said. “You get used to it after so many years here. I don't have any issues with it, to tell you the truth.”

Housing has become one of Mission Valley’s largest concerns in the last couple of decades. Population has swelled, with the area seeing a 43 percent upswing from 2000 to 2007. Due to this, housing units have gone up 40 percent. Mission Valley has also become the ideal place for young families. More than 5000 residents are between 30 and 40 years old, and there are more children under five than any other demographic of 18-and-under in the area. Young professionals who come to Mission Valley to work want to live there as well.

A new complex, Quarry Falls, is currently under construction. It plans to expand as the area allows it to, and will be home to two things Mission Valley does not have – a public school as well as a park that isn’t made of concrete. Qualcomm Stadium is Mission Valley’s only official park land.

With the housing crunch already in effect, developers are looking for any edge to get people to buy in. A stadium could be the difference – but if there’s no future for that stadium, it provides no hook. The city will not commit to any long-term plans for the site if the Chargers are gone, leaving the housing industry with no answers.

“Other people may start losing because they ... can [use it] to advertise their building easier,” Santiago said.

Several complexes, including Padre Gardens, Portofino and Monte Vista either declined to comment or did not immediately return requests.

There is already a Charger culture in Mission Valley for new buyers to embrace. If they just step out of their homes, they’re already in it.

“It's really convenient for them to get to the games,” Santiago said. “All they have to do is walk over there.”

Santiago, who has lived in Mission Terrace for 11 years, said that there has not been any vandalism on the property as far as she knew. She also said that the building hasn’t sold off extra parking spaces, a practice that is common for apartment buildings and commercial complexes in San Diego and other cities. Traffic is also not a major concern.

“There [are] traffic issues, but not really bad,” Santiago said. “If you know how to go in and out of here, it's easy.”

What isn’t easy, however, is adjusting to Mission Valley without a team.

“Business around here is going to go down so much,” Santiago said, “because they attract a lot of business here. You have all these business around the street, and they're crowded whenever there's a game, so it's going to be hard.”

A spot in the circle

Not every fan that enters the turnstiles at Qualcomm Stadium is a Chargers fan. Outside fans have always earmarked San Diego as a place to see their teams on the road while squeezing in a family vacation. Charger fans take great offense to being called ‘fair-weathered’ based on the high levels of visitors in the seats each game, citing the vacation factor as the reason why.

Visitors have to have somewhere to stay. That’s when they look out west to Hotel Circle.

Charles Holladay, 46, has been managing the Ramada Inn for six years. The Ramada has 182 rooms in their four floor facility. Rooms cost between $99 and $199, with the highest spike at $299.

“During the regular season, we tend to get quite a bit of business from the visiting team's supporters,” Holladay said. “At least 50 or 75 rooms on most weekends, especially more as it gets into the October, November and December time frame and it get colder back east.”

Hotel Circle’s roots come from the major development of Mission Valley in the 60s and 70s. Mission Valley Center was built in 1961 and is known as the spark for the valley’s present-day look. The Ramada was built in 1965. Qualcomm Stadium was built in 1967.

Holladay said that visiting fans aren’t very rowdy. That doesn’t mean there isn’t trash talking.
“When I come in on a Sunday morning, I'm wearing all my colors,” Holladay said. “They're excited to see their team. If you lived in Pittsburgh and it was December, you'd be pretty happy to be in San Diego too.”

Holladay was quite frank about the situation.

“The Chargers will probably leave the Qualcomm site, and I won't get the same amount of business that I currently enjoy every year,” Holladay said. “It's a slower time of year and its nice to have that business. In December, when it’s slow as far as tourism is concerned, a Charger home game means I'm going to sell out for a couple of nights.”

The final heartbeat

The pulse of the valley is pumping its last drops of blood. Mission Valley waits for its future to be officially decided.

“I feel a lot of people who live around this are really appreciate that the Chargers do play across the street from them and they like it,” Hernandez said. “A lot of Charger fans do come here even if the Chargers aren't playing, but they know it's near the stadium and they can come here and watch the away games.”

“In a rational political environment,” Chargers special counsel Mark Fabiani said, “it would seem likely that the City would decide to tear down the stadium, relieve itself of its annual and deferred maintenance obligations, and try to do something socially useful or economically useful with the site. But these have hardly been rational times at City Hall, and San Diego has a history of debating troublesome issues for many years.”

Some expect to see new housing projects like Quarry Falls. Others expect another mall. Whether the market can hold either is questionable.

“Economy wise, I'm sure that they're going to replace that, Dean said. “I've heard they're going to build retail, all that kind of stuff.”

“I don't think anyone would be too surprised if after the Chargers depart Qualcomm that the stadium in Mission Valley will sit empty as the discussion about what to do with it drones on,” Fabiani said.

Mission Valley will find a new pulse. Fashion Valley is almost done building their extension. Westfield Mission Valley continues to be popular. Quarry Falls will give residents local identity. The Chargers’ impact will always be felt on the valley, however. The end of the stadium’s life with 40 years of games doesn’t end 40 years of memories.

“We're sorry financially to see them leave us because they're a big bonus for us,” Dean said. “But Mission Valley is the place. Chula Vista will be fine; I guess … it's just too bad they couldn't have worked a deal out over here. That's the way it goes.”

Slideshow of Mission Valley locations

What's your price?

A new poll on ESPN.com's Page 2 asks how much money you'd take in return for your team leaving town, how much you'd pay to keep them in town, and many other piercing questions about how people operate with sports in mind.

The question key for this blog is #5:
5) Your local government agrees to build a new sports complex to keep your favorite team in town. But spending on roads and education will be cut. Are you OK with this?

With 17,000 votes cast so far, 52% said they'd be OK with it. Makes me wonder what a group of Chula Vistans would answer...

A Small Helping Of Links

- Organizations in the San Diego business community have declared their support of the Chargers' efforts, according to an opinion piece in the San Diego Union-Tribune. San Diego Regional Economic Development Corp., San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce and San Diego International Sports Council are on the list. The letter asks for San Diegans to support Chula Vista government, get involved, put pressure on other politicians and to not be derailed by fantasy offers that detract from Chula Vista's progress.

- More on Wednesday's news over the Marine Terminal - the Port Commission has hired laywers to assist defending the terminal against San Diego Community Solutions.

- The stadium negotiation came up in last week's San Diego mayoral debate. Mayor Jerry Sanders was taken to task by his main rival Steve Francis over Sanders' inaction with the Chargers. Here's the part you need to see:

Francis knocked Sanders for refusing to negotiate with the Chargers, who are studying two sites in Chula Vista for a stadium.

Sanders has said keeping the team should be a regional concern, not only San Diego's, and he would support a regional plan that does not rely on taxpayer money to build a stadium.

Francis agreed that taxpayer money should not be used. But he said San Diego's mayor should be more involved.

That's it for now. I'll talk to y'all during the weekend. Don't forget to leave a comment or mail me if you've got something to say.

'Bolts by the Bay' to campaign for coastal change

Grassroots group’s first meeting discusses rallies and strategies
By Brandon Stone
San Diego Stadium Watch

In the Captain’s Room of the South Bay Fish and Grill, parked under the invisible shadow of the South Bay Power Plant, concerned pro-stadium residents in San Diego County started their work towards bringing change to the Chula Vista bay front.

More than 20 people, including two Chula Vista council members, met in the restaurant located near Bayfront Park Wednesday night to analyze the current situation at Chula Vista’s bay front, where the San Diego Chargers want to place a new $1.2 billion stadium at the location of the South Bay Power Plant. Members of ‘Bolts by the Bay’ used the meeting to figure out how this collection of citizens could establish connections with Chula Vista residents and construct concrete plans for a public rally to be held on the first weekend of June.

“We've got to get the word out and build public support,” one group member said. “It has to start with community people. This is our chance to be heard.”

Councilmember John McCann expressed his support during a phone call, and Rudy Ramirez dropped in for a few moments as well.

“This project can put the city of Chula Vista on the map and save our hometown team,” McCann said. “You guys are going to be a very important part to see if we can keep the Chargers in San Diego County.”

Ramirez’ comments reflected those of McCann’s.

“We recognize that we need your input and support on this so that we can make it a reality,” Ramirez said. “It’s a good deal for Chula Vista and something we can do.”

The group was formed in February through message boards on the Internet and has labeled itself as a “civic mobilization effort” created to serve the people while keeping the Chargers in San Diego. As the Chargers push on towards a spot on the ballot in 2009, this coalition of fans and social servants will stand behind them.

“It's about the community spirit,” group head Caryl Foster said. “The Bolts have always allowed us to come together, regardless of issues with each other. On Sunday afternoons, we can all come together and root for our home team.”

Foster is a veteran of local and national political activism, and has lead various stadium groups and virtual negotiations since the Chargers announced plans to move from their home in Mission Valley in 2002.

“The last thing I want to see them do is leave the town I grew up in,” Foster said.

The group makes no secret of their affinity with the Chargers – a large bolt draped across a sign on the back wall of the room and many members sported Charger gear. The group’s mission statement proudly declares them as ‘die-hard Bolt fans.’

Group spokesman Charles Phillips talked to group about his initial thoughts on the site and what a new stadium could do for the city and county.

“When the Chargers started saying they needed a new stadium, the first place that came to my mind was bay front Chula Vista,” Phillips said. “From that point, I was debating with people around town that the best place was not Mission Valley.

“The marina is just beautiful, and I thought, 'Man, that's the place to have a stadium. Not just for the Chargers, but for the whole county, what it means to it.' The infrastructure's already here. We have a trolley that takes 15 minutes to get down. We have a convention center where all the wonderful A-listers can go ... while all [the] regular folks can go down to Gaylord. ...We'll have a place to really facilitate Super Bowls. This is the spot they're going to want to come to every year.”

Phillips emphasized the international appeal, calling the potential stadium an “international destination sports venue” for soccer friendlies.

“It gives you more to sell,” Phillips said.

In order for Phillips and the group to sell that dream, it will take major work reaching Chula Vista residents voting in 2009.

“The people that are here - we're the groundswell,” Phillips said. “We're all here to help organize and find out what everybody's skills are. We need to use our community to sell our community.”

That groundswell will attempt to make itself known in June, when they plan to hold a rally at Bayfront Park. The group wants to bring in local media to the event, and wants to invite notable locals as well as business owners and political minds to back the Chargers’ plans.

“The thing that we're planning,” Foster said, “is to let the people know and the region know and the media know and all the people that are players in this game know that there is a grassroots organization that is dedicated to keeping the Chargers here. Moreover, we're dedicated to putting a world-class stadium here.”

“This is very important, not only for the Chargers, but our whole community and even more important for Chula Vista,” Phillips said.

Chatter in the room focused on the budget problems in Chula Vista, and how a new stadium can change the economics of the region. Most of the people felt that knocking down the plant and solidifying the Gaylord hotel to the north of the site would be the catalyst for renovating traffic and availability problems with the bay front.

“[Gaylord] brings the infrastructure and the roads,” member and long-time San Diego resident Mike Sandburg said. “That freeway can’t hold this beautiful plan.”

Sandburg is appreciative of the steps that have happened as of late.

“We've had a very interesting year,” Sandburg said. “We're finally seeing some serious movement. When you have a multi-billion dollar like Gaylord, it really precipitates things. Potentially, Chula Vista's got to go through an adept revitalization. We're seeing [San Diego Gas & Electric] suddenly come to the table and start negotiations.

“The city has already voted to try and get the state to close down the power plant. It's an old, inefficient plant. It's a great contrast - a beautiful new stadium versus a power plant.”

“Everything funnels into [the area],” member Michael Cain of Chula Vista said. “We've got the trolley. I-5 is in place. We've got [Interstate] 15 that funnels right into that. We've got [Interstate] 805 and [state Route] 94. It's an ideal location.”

Cain worked with the Super Bowl Task Force in 1984 that put together Super Bowl XXII; the first of San Diego’s three times hosting the event. For Cain, a stadium on the bay stands as a way to posthumously fulfill the dreams of a pioneer for Qualcomm Stadium.

“I go back to Jack Murphy,” Cain said, “who suggested originally that instead of putting the stadium in Mission Valley, you put the stadium in Mission Bay. It wouldn't be a bad idea to put it in San Diego Bay using the shoreline for parking. You can access the stadium on the water. You build something the size of two cruise ships, you have a football stadium. You could access it by water using the water ferries ... It's an ideal place.”

Phillips pointed out what the area could do for the next generation.

“I have grandkids, and I would like to leave a legacy,” Phillips said. “They have something that they could come down here to.”

The members were very aware of the difficult road ahead. Many acknowledged environmental and infrastructural problems, but all were ready to plow ahead despite the wishes of others for the stadium to go away. No one at the meeting specifically had an answer to the environmental issues brought up by organizations such as the Environmental Health Coalition.

“The negatives are the bureaucrats who will drag their feet and the committee and the environmentalists that will really drag their feet and make it more expensive,” Cain said.

“The barbeques won’t kill the birds,” Sandburg joked.

“I think eventually we'll have everyone on board,” Foster said, “from San Diego State to the Port District to the city of San Diego itself to Chula Vista, National City and the county of San Diego in support of developing a world-class venue. It will serve as a catalyst for the development of this whole stretch.”

Change and opportunity were the words of the night, with many people expressing their hope to cultivate both of those elements on the bay front.

“I can't believe that we have an opportunity like this to have this,” member Catherine Aguinaido, a Chula Vista native, said. “I don't care whether it's in the east or the west, I just want it built.”

“Change is inevitable,” member Margaret Smith added.

“I'd never been to this restaurant and I'd never been here,” member Eddie Zavala said, “but looking at that power plant really ticks me off. What the hell is it doing here? The Chargers’ stadium is the perfect place, right there. We need to keep the Chargers and we need to make sure that our region doesn't suffer the loss of such a great team and such community spirit.”

Slideshow of 'Bolts by the Bay' Meeting

Port Commission and SDCS at odds over 10th Avenue Marine Terminal

From the Daily Business Report of San Diego Metropolitan Magazine:

The Board of Port Commissioners will challenge a proposed ballot initiative that would amend the Unified Port District's master plan to allow hotels, restaurants and possibly a sports stadium at the Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal. The initiative, “The Port of San Diego Marine Freight Preservation and Bay Front Redevelopment Initiative,” is being proposed by a group known as San Diego Community Solutions LLC. The group is headed by Richard W. Chase, Nancy Chase and Frank Gallagher. The sponsors must obtain at least 75,000 signatures of valid registered voters to qualify the measure for the ballot in November.

Possibly a sports stadium? Interesting words from the Metropolitan, because the words of SDCS spokesman Scott Maloni and Chargers spokesman Mark Fabiani don't reflect much chance of one. We've talked about this on Stadium Watch on two occasions:
Stadium not in 10th Avenue plans, group says
Fabiani open to discuss Terminal site

Draw your own conclusions, but I don't think the Chargers will stick their heads into this situation for a while. Maybe they'll peek through the window, but another battlefront to go along with the bay front doesn't seem like the best thing for them at this time.

Grassroots bay front group to hold strategy meeting

Members of the Chula Vista Bay Front Stadium Action Group will meet at 7 p.m. at the South Bay Fish and Grill to discuss policy with potential new members and develop strategy for future events.

Current members of the action group will meet with concerned residents of Chula Vista, Chula Vista business owners, current Chargers season ticket holders and interested parties met through the Internet. Group leaders plan to ratify initial statements, work on plans for a public meeting later in the spring, discuss building support through other citizens and media outlets, and assign boards for committed members.

“We're hoping to put together a strategic management team where everybody brings to the table what they do best,” group leader Caryl Foster said in an earlier interview with Stadium Watch. “That includes having an understanding of the potential economic and fiscal impact, having an understanding of the environmental impact and being able to bring pressure [with] the public entities that want to keep the Chargers in San Diego.”

The group is planning to formally introduce itself to the public within the next month, and will begin activity soon after.

Coming Back From The Quiet

Hey, I'm still here!

I decided to take a break from the blogging world, but trust me - we're not through yet. Keep the month of May in your calendar. Some very important things will be coming out on this site, including some redesign, new marketing and some new features (did someone say podcast?).

I'm jazzed about the next phase of this site, and I hope you readers out there are excited as well.

In the meantime, Susan Luzzaro of the San Diego Reader put out a massive article analyzing the environment of the bay front and the actions of the main players thus far. It's a big read, but let's take a look at some of the important highlights.

But the stadium is not a part of the master plan, nor has its impact on the environment been addressed in the master plan’s environmental impact report.

“It’s beginning to feel like bait and switch,” says Laura Hunter, who works for the Environmental Health Coalition and was a member of the Chula Vista Bayfront Master Plan Citizens Advisory Committee. “Why are they encouraging the Chargers? The language of CEQA is not benign. It requires analysis of projects that are reasonably foreseeable.” CEQA, the California Environmental Quality Act, is the law that requires an analysis of environmental impacts from proposed projects, which are often disclosed in environmental impact reports (EIRs). It’s no secret to anyone, including the California Coastal Commission and the State Lands Commission, that Chula Vista is considering a Chargers stadium. If the master plan is submitted without mention of the stadium and without environmental analysis of the stadium’s impact, the commissions may send everyone back to square one.

For any environmentalist looking to knock the stadium plans out of the way, this is their bread and butter. Chula Vista has allowed the Chargers to work on the project without requiring an environmental study thus far. The studies have included financial analysis currently on tap as well as economical studies for the fall, but there is no environmental impact report currently scheduled. The Chargers have acknowledged this, but have not yet made anything happen.

He calls the economic feasibility study “silly and dysfunctional.” He argues that you cannot do a real cost study unless you look at what constraints the project will have to mitigate the environmental impacts. “How much area will you need for a buffer? What would it cost to prevent that light pollution to the J Street Marsh? What kind of trash handling and food storage will be required to avoid attracting feral animals that would kill the marsh wildlife? And what about the cost and the area that it would take to treat the runoff water from the huge parking lot before it goes into the bay. How much room will it all take? How can they compute the cost or what they could earn without knowing the answers to these basic questions?”

The bayfront area where the Chargers propose to build is next to one of the last mudflats in San Diego County. “An infinite number of animals and fish use it,” Peugh says. “It’s all life, it’s not inert. And the area is essential for migratory birds; they are dependent on it as a stepping stone during their long migratory flights.”

Peugh has spoken before about the current stability of the J Street Marsh. According to Peugh, the lights from a stadium could cause major damage to the quality of life, including chemical balance in the water.

Many people think the Chargers are using Chula Vista as a bargaining chip, a public flirtation in which Chula Vista would be the big loser. ... A few days later, in his February 27 column, Canepa interviewed Padres owner John Moores on his “pet topic, the 96-acre Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal,” located in the city of San Diego. Canepa wrote that Mark Fabiani “has said the terminal would be an ideal spot [for a new stadium] because all roads, parking and infrastructure are in place.” Then Canepa quoted Moores on the subject: “ ‘Building a stadium on that site would be great for everybody.’ ”

Mark Fabiani and the Chargers have deal with others offers, both worthwhile and fantasy, about places to play. But until this election season is settled, specifically with the City Attorney, people will wonder if Chula Vista is a barganing chip.

A couple of weeks ago, I linked to an article explaining how each City Attorney candidate feels about the Chargers. As 2008 continues and if 2009 comes with a more "Charger-friendly" attorney, it will be interesting to see how the Chargers modify their strategy concerning the city of San Diego.

Today's Batch: City Attorneys, Two Tracks, Multiple Opinions

Lots of news to reel in this week, let's get to it.

An article that came out today details how nominees for the City Attorney job would approach the stadium situation. For easier reading: everyone wants to come to a consensus, but Mike Aguirre and Amy Lepine play the watchdog role and the other nominees are more hands-off.

An earlier story in the Union-Tribune mentions the Chargers as part of city issues for candidates for office. The article can summarize for itself:

Sanders supports the relocation effort. His leading opponent, Steve
Francis, says he would work to identify new county, state and federal incentives
to keep the team.

Most City Council candidates say taxpayers shouldn't subsidize the
development of a new stadium in San Diego. Some don't see the Chargers as a
priority at all.

Finally, Chargers special counsel Mark Fabiani released an article discussing the "two tracks" the Chula Vista project is on. It's a summary of what has happened in Chula Vista so far, and shows the two tracks as financing and eliminating the power plant.

The third budget story should be up on Sunday, and there are some other things in the works.

Following The Money - Part 2: Chula Vista cutting and Chargers not running

Over the next week, Stadium Watch is taking a special look at budgets and financing. The first part detailed how legislators and citizens in Arizona came together to finance their stadium. The second part talks about Chula Vista’s budget crisis and how it affects the proposal.

Timing is everything. So far, time hasn’t been on the Chargers’ side.

When the team approached the city about a new place to play, San Diego was already in the midst of its long battle with downtown development. When the Chargers brought the issue back to life in 2002, the pension controversy two years later moved the team’s needs were moved out of the way so that the city could repair itself. And in the latest phase, Oceanside was deemed not ready to handle the growth required at this time and National City concluded its availability couldn’t match what the Chargers desired.

And now, with the Chargers’ plan as close as it has ever been to reaching a vote, Chula Vista’s budget could knock the Chargers off the clock.

Last year, the city faced a $15 million deficit that put department funding and government jobs on the line. A fire station was almost decommissioned. Spending was suspended across the board. Departments were forced to cut their budgets by 10 percent. Hiring has been frozen. City Manager David Garcia, who had only been in his position for a short time, called the city’s budget problems a crisis.

It didn’t get better in the new year, either. The city wants to cut $3 million more before the start of the 2008-2009 fiscal year to break even, and still faces an $8 million shortfall. Jobs that were saved in the last cut may not be safe this time. The sparkling City Hall campus can’t compare to the dirty mess Chula Vista’s finances are in. It isn’t the best news for someone trying to sell a stadium to voters.

“We are not seeking any tax dollars from Chula Vista for our proposed project,” Chargers special counsel Mark Fabiani said, ”so from a purely financial point of view the City's budget problems should not have a direct impact on the project.”

Chula Vista Mayor Cheryl Cox didn’t shy away from the reality of the budget.

“Property and sales taxes are in a slump, and development fees are not existent,” Cox said in her State Of The City Address. “Budget reductions in the last few months have been painful, and we’re not done yet.”

Property taxes in Chula Vista will only rise by 10 percent this year instead of the expected 14 percent. This is the latest result of the domino-like depreciation of city funds.

It starts with the city’s passion to build in the east. A housing boom meant that the sound of hammers cracking and saws splitting echoed down Chula Vista streets. The fees for this construction are paid for by the city.

When the boom stopped and the mortgage rates shot up, Chula Vista was left with no one buying homes while construction fees still had to be paid. Since people couldn’t afford to live in the homes they had bought, they stayed away from new shopping centers build to withstand Chula Vista’s growth. Permits for construction dropped from more than 3,000 to 600. A city once moving forward was at a standstill.

Is this the place for the Chargers to play the hero and save the day? The Chargers’ financing study is due in the summer, and it will detail how the Chargers plan to pay for a new bay front stadium. Could this new stadium help turn the tide of tax loss that’s choking the city, or would it be another hole in Chula Vista’s levy?

“We hope that our pending financing study will demonstrate that a new stadium and related commercial development will generate new tax revenue for the City of Chula Vista,” Fabiani said.

One of the biggest problems the Chargers face is proving one of their funding ideas can work in the economic climate. The team wants to build homes in stretches of Otay Mesa to help foot the bill.

“By the time the commercial or residential project reaches the marketplace, we hope that the economy will have improved,” Fabiani said. “But it is absolutely true that our ability to finance this project in the next several years will be [dependent] on overall credit market conditions -- conditions that are certainly not very promising right now.”

At the end of the day, the future of the Chargers is in the hands of Chula Vistans hoping their city can find the best-fitting bandage to stop the bleeding. And if the Chargers look like salt instead of antibiotic, their hopes will apart.

“The Chargers will be asking the voters of Chula Vista to support our project,” Fabiani said, “and those voters may be reluctant to vote for an ambitious project if they believe the City is in financial crisis. So the political impact remains to be seen.”