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Could the Chargers Move to North County? |
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By Ron Donoho
(page 1 of 2)
The January 29 press conference announcing Marty Schottenheimer as the Chargers’ new head football coach draws a dozen TV cameras and every sports anchor in town. A white party tent is set up next to the team’s Murphy Canyon headquarters to house the press minions. This hire is a news event that will keep the sports-radio phone lines lit up all night—and will be raging fodder when the NFL season re-enters the forefront this fall.But baseball season approaches. And Padres ballpark construction season is also nigh. So why focus now on a football team that hasn’t had a winning season in five years? Because if immediate attention isn’t paid to the future of pro football in San Diego, the horizon may hold only the low-rent image of the new Arena League RipTide, now setting up for an inaugural season in the Sports Arena.
During his press conference, Schottenheimer is asked if during contract negotiations he discussed the escape clause in the Chargers’ lease with the city, which allows the team to shop itself around after 2003. His reply: “I am not fully aware of any specifics relative to that. I was focused on convincing the Spanos family and [general manager] John Butler that I was the right man for the job.”
If Schottenheimer really hasn’t considered the future site of his current employer’s office, his wife of 35 years, Pat, should be warned that housing here is pricey—whether you rent for the short term or own for the long run.
After the formal press conference, team president Dean Spanos faces this query: “There’s been a lot of speculation about the Chargers moving. Can you say unequivocally that if Marty Schottenheimer is coaching this team four years from now, he will be playing home games in San Diego at Qualcomm Stadium?”
Spanos: “I can’t say anything for sure except that we sure want to be in San Diego and we expect to be here, are hoping to be here. All we’re trying to do is put a team together that can win here at Qualcomm Stadium. Beyond that, there are no discussions for a new stadium here in San Diego or anywhere else... We haven’t been talking to anyone in Los Angeles. And nobody has on my behalf, either... We haven’t been talking to [other cities], either.”
Spanos has consistently and fervently said he wants to keep the team—not to mention his roots—in San Diego. But an unequivocal statement has never been uttered by either of the two men—owner Alex Spanos being the other—who know for sure what it will take to keep the Chargers here ad infinitum.
Speculation abounds—in part because the Spanoses choose to be tight-lipped on the subject. And that makes covering the story akin to trying to wrap your arms around a cloud.
But beyond speculation, the logical conclusion being drawn by public, private and inside observers interviewed for this story is that if the team doesn’t get a new stadium, the team known as the San Diego Chargers will be history.
A knowledgeable source points to a market assessment study the Chargers quietly commissioned in late 2000 that—among other things—looked at the possibility of keeping “San Diego” and “Chargers” linked in name by building a new stadium somewhere in North County. No site was identified, and no public talks have taken place. But the idea was an attractive possibility for the team, according to the source.
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