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By Tony Manolatos
November 11, 2015 (San Diego)--With Mayor Kevin Faulconer in New York speaking to NFL owners about the City & County's stadium plan in Mission Valley, and building on momentum that has been growing in San Diego for months, the Chargers and Raiders have thrown a Hail Mary to try and shift support to their Carson stadium project.
"With the ownership vote on L.A. looming, this could be the Hail Mary play by the folks in Carson that gets their attention," Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio says in this story today about Walt Disney's CEO joining the Carson project.
But he's not onboard. He's participating "only if the NFL approves the Carson site," the story says. So nothing has changed.
It is important to point out that the NFL has been negotiating with the City and County for a while, and those talks have focused on the Mission Valley plan because of the common-sense financing and achievable timetable, and because the plan has been legally vetted.
The Chargers left the negotiating table several months ago after a handful of sessions, refusing to talk financing and claiming the City's EIR was "legally dubious and would be tied up in court for years."
But the EIR only drew 18 public responses (controversial developments in San Diego typically draw hundreds of responses) including two professional responses. Each of the professional responses have connections to the Chargers, and no one is saying who paid to prepare those responses, each of which cost tens of thousands of dollars.
Even if one of the 18 responses turns into a lawsuit, California Governor Jerry Brown has signed an order that would wrap up all litigation in 270 days -- not years.
Chargers fans have rightfully turned on the team's stadium spokesman, Mark Fabiani, for his insults, criticisms and attempts to undercut any progress in San Diego. But fans have not turned on the team or the rich history the Chargers have in San Diego. Fans, the Mayor and Supervisor Ron Roberts all want the same thing. They want to keep the Chargers where they belong -- right here in San Diego.
The views and opinions are those of the author and not necessarily those of the East County Magazine. Those with opinions should contact the editor for consideration at editor@eastcountymagazine.org.
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