San Diego Magazine / May 2003 / Tales from the Chargers Task Force

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Tales from the Chargers Task Force

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“It’s just football.” That was the reaction from my non–sports fan mother. The Citizens Task Force on Chargers Issues, of which I was a member, was being beat up by the local media and members of the San Diego City Council. The beating was over the panel’s consideration of a trip to Denver to tour that city’s new football stadium.

Six months later, the media praised the Chargers task force for preparing a “commendable report” and for “accomplishing its mission beautifully.” Even members of the city council who had referred to the task force as “sloppy” and described the canceled informational trip as a “junket” later sang the praises of the panel for suggesting a fiscally responsible solution to keep football in San Diego.

The challenge facing the task force was to accomplish its work under extreme conditions. They included intense media coverage, televised hearings, significant public participation, ticket guarantees, phantom seats, a cliff-hanger Chargers season, a San Diego Super Bowl, talk of triggers and lawsuits, and all the political heat that surrounds any discussion of sports teams and their relationships with local government. Serving on the task force was a lot like drinking from a firehose.

Last July, when Mayor Dick Murphy introduced the 15 volunteers he appointed to serve on the panel, he told the diverse group it was being asked to do a thankless job. The mayor did a commendable job of appointing a bright, dedicated and hard-working panel that represented the diverse interests, backgrounds and views of the community.

The first formal task force meeting, held in early August 2002, was attended by more members of the media than the public. The mayor’s selection of land-use attorney David Watson as chair proved the most significant appointment to the panel. Watson was able to steer the group through a gauntlet of challenges that surrounded the complex debate.

Appointing Bruce Henderson, a vocal opponent of public subsidies for sports teams, was another wise move. The one-time city councilman was able to resurrect his public profile with an obsessive crusade about the city’s relationship with its football team. Henderson deserved a place on the panel—though I believe his relevance was marginal by the end of the process; he was eclipsed by the open-minded and fiscally responsible members.
As the task force began its marathon meeting schedule—including 18 full-membership and nearly 40 subcommittee meetings—the group was introduced to a number of other unique personalities and supporting characters.