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More Stadium Foreshadowing

Published: Wednesday, August 29, 2007 1:32 PM PDT

E-MAIL STORY

After this post yesterday on the Chargers, I got an e-mail from reader RS who offered another one of the key arguments we will be hearing more of when -- or if -- a solid stadium proposal emerges.

He wrote:

There's also the fact that Qualcomm is falling apart. It's one of the oldest in the NFL still standing. Power cords are draped everywhere. Stadium facilities guys wonder why the lights still go on. It leaks like a sieve when it rains (thankfully seldom). The City is broke and has a hard time keeping up with maintenance. If you've gotta go, you better have a strong bladder. ... There are 32 cities in the NFL. Most of these cities have found a way to help finance a new stadium (in many cases two stadiums) since Qualcomm was built. Should San Diego reinvest to keep the NFL here? Should San Diego use public assets to help Spanos get a little richer (along with a lot of other businesses)? Those questions can certainly be debated. That Qualcomm Stadium needs to be replaced or abandoned doesn't seem in question.

This is similar to an argument made yesterday by the Chargers and one I've heard in the past from City Council President Scott Peters: The city of San Diego is better off financially if the team gets a new stadium because of what it costs the taxpayers to maintain Qualcomm.

In the end, it will likely boil down to what taxpayers are asked to contribute in exchange. I haven't heard anything about San Diego being involved in the deal in Chula Vista, but it's very possible the city of San Diego could be asked to contribute some sort of financing to help Oceanside bridge the gap if it is selected. There's also always the possibility that the team can't get anything done in either locale and returns to San Diego to try to get another deal done here.

Again, many of these arguments aren't ready to be dissected until we have a solid proposal to chew on. That is supposed to be emerging soon. We'll have a more in-depth look at these issues and more when that time comes.