The Chargers have the "option of tarping off seats" at Qualcomm Stadium, but Chargers PR Dir Bill Johnston indicated that fans should "forget about it," according to Tom Krasovic of the SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE. Johnston in an e-mail wrote, "We just lowered the price of 10,000 season seats in an effort to help fill the stadium and enhance our homefield advantage. Combine the lower price with one of the most attractive and competitive home schedules in memory and we’re optimistic about our chances." The Raiders last week announced plans to put a tarp over 10,000 seats at O.co Coliseum for home games (UTSANDIEGO.com, 2/11). Meanwhile, in San Diego, Jonathan Horn wondered what the possibility is of the Chargers "moving to San Antonio if they fail to get a new stadium." Texas Gov. Rick Perry said, "You'd have to ask the Spanos family. Dean is a good friend and I would be lying if I didn't tell you, come to Texas and we would love to have their athletic club there. But there's a family whose been there forever. If it gets so difficult for them to be able to operate, that's always an option, but again you'd have to ask them. I have no indication that the Chargers are going to be coming to Texas" (UTSANDIEGO.com, 2/13).
NOT A TREND TEAMS WANT: CSNBayArea.com’s Andy Dolich noted putting a tarp up in the upper deck of stadiums is "not a trend that you want because it shows that you're not attracting as many fans as you hope to.” Dolich noted while the Raiders have proactively stated they want to stay in Oakland, shrinking the stadium "to become the smallest capacity stadium for NFL football, that's a bad sign." Dolich: "Of course, going against the 49ers and that new, miraculous stadium coming out of the ground, the timing couldn't be worse." He dismissed the idea that tarping off seats could be a “strategy” by the Raiders to move to L.A. Dolich said, "I don't think the Raiders are going anyplace, unless they're going to Santa Clara. They are trying to figure out what to do with building a new stadium, and I don't think this necessarily helps" ("Chronicle Live,” Comcast SportsNet Bay Area, 2/13).
