The Chargers’ relocation application submitted to the NFL last week "declares the team has 'demonstrated a firm commitment to San Diego' and has 'done everything any reasonable team could ever do to find a permanent stadium solution in San Diego,'" according to Kevin Acee of the SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE. The opening paragraph of the team’s argument to move to L.A. concludes: "Now, unfortunately, all alternatives in the Chargers’ home market have been exhausted by the franchise." A summary of the Chargers' application "lists what the team terms its San Diego stadium 'proposals.'" The Chargers estimate they have spent more than $20M "examining all possible stadium options in the San Diego region." San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer's Deputy Chief of Staff & Chief of Communications Matt Awbrey on Friday night "criticized the application" and "called out Chargers ownership." Awbrey: "[Chargers Chair] Dean Spanos can't rewrite history as he tries to walk out the door" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 1/9). In California, Scott Reid noted Chargers officials "outlined how the franchise’s financial health would be threatened by staying at an aging Qualcomm Stadium while another team or teams move into" the L.A.-Orange County market. Chargers officials "also emphasize the strengths of a Carson stadium on a 168-acre spread next to the 405 Freeway designed, constructed and branded under the guidance" of Disney Chair & CEO Bob Iger (ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, 1/9).
YOU STAY CLASSY SAN DIEGO: In St. Louis, Benjamin Hochman wrote unlike the Rams' 29-page proposal, which was a "punch to the stomach" of the city, the Chargers' relocation plan "was a four-page document that didn’t rip the city of San Diego." Instead, it "just laid out examples of all the times the Chargers tried to get a new stadium in San Diego." Hochman: "Straightforward and classy." Chargers ownership would "do anything to have" a stadium task force leader like Dave Peacock and a new stadium, while the "last thing the [Rams] ownership wants is Dave Peacock and a new stadium" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 1/9).
