Does a Downtown Stadium Make Sense?

Maas, a San Diego native, said team president and CEO Dean Spanos understands that the Chargers are “an important part of the fabric of who we are as a city.”

SAN DIEGO—The proposed Chargers Stadium Downtown could serve to further activate the city’s economy without burdening taxpayers, two advisors to the Chargers told attendees at yesterday’s Jewish Federation of San Diego breakfast event. The Breakfast Club presentation “How Will a New Downtown Stadium Affect San Diego?” addressed an initiative that is set to be put in front of city voters in November that proposes the development of a joint football stadium and convention center funded by the Chargers and taxes collected via tourism . Developer and consultant Fred Maas , who had been involved with the Black Mountain Ranch development and the Centre City Development Corp. before its post- RDA dissolution, told attendees about the challenges and benefits of trying to keep the Chargers in San Diego. He said in 1998, voters had approved the development of an entertainment district in Downtown San Diego—not just the development of baseball stadium Petco Park . “This concept is not novel—it had been in discussions for a long time.” In 2008 and 2009, the concept of an entertainment district was reenergized, and a “ San Diego Live ”-type development was proposed as a 365-day-a-year venue for Downtown. In 2010, the legislature had lifted funds to make this development possible, but then the RDA dissolution took place, and the idea lay dormant. The Chargers eventually consummated an agreement to share Inglewood Stadium in Los Angeles with the L.A. Rams , much to the chagrin of many local residents.

Pollack: “The suggested vision of the Spanos family is to create a facility that’s about more than just football, but a state-of-the-art football stadium and convention center.”

Maas said since then, team president and CEO Dean Spanos spoke to him about wanting to keep the team in San Diego, realizing that the Chargers are “an important part of the fabric of who we are as a city.” He asked Maas what it would entail to keep the team here and began to pursue the idea of redeveloping the eastern edge of Downtown San Diego—the only area of the submarket where a sizable development could take place—and opening up Mission Valley for the redevelopment of Qualcomm Stadium , where the Chargers currently play. The proposed facility, a vision conceived by local architect David Manica , will feature a retractable roof and aims to fix the blighted blocks of this area of Downtown in addition to promoting growth opportunities for the region. According to the Chargers website , in connection with the construction of the convention-center expansion and stadium, the initiative requires that a private-sector (the Chargers) contribution of $650 million be provided, that the team enter into a covenant and agreement agreeing not to relocate for a period of 30 years and agreeing to play substantially all of its home games at the stadium. “We hope the voters will approve the financing scheme and structure to keep the Chargers in San Diego,” Maas said. He told GlobeSt.com that at this time there is no proposed construction cost or timeline for the project. Chargers special advisor Jeffrey Pollack , former commissioner of the World Series of Poker , who has more than 20 years of entrepreneurial and executive experience in the sports industry, gave a presentation about the design of the proposed joint project. “The suggested vision of the Spanos family is to create a facility that’s about more than just football, but a state-of-the-art football stadium and convention center,” Pollack said. Manica, a designer of stadiums, arena and convention centers, was charged with creating “something that is authentically San Diego.” While it would not be the tallest structure Downtown, it would be geared for 61,500 seats and offer a good mix of indoor/outdoor features including open terraces and balconies with greenery. A park is proposed, for which the community can decide its use, and there would be four entrances to the building. “There is a commitment to activating on the street level and making it meaningful for the community, connecting with those in the immediate neighborhood.” A museum , coffee shops and restaurants are foreseen as additional development for the area, and there’s talk of incorporating the Wonder Bread building façade into the stadium design. Pollack said the proposal includes 385,000 square feet of leasable convention space and 260,000 square feet of exhibit space. One question from attendees concerned public transportation to the new facility, and Pollack said with only 1,300 parking spaces in the proposal, a thoughtful transportation-management plan is in the future for this site. He said this project would encourage residents to embrace a new form of urbanism—less driving and greater use of the trolley and bus systems. He said it would require working with MTS to readjust the transportation schedule and that the Chargers are “embracing the radical change of where we are today” to be more pedestrian friendly and involve less driving. Maas added that tailgating, a mainstay of the Chargers pre-game experience, might be encouraged to take place away from the stadium.