The Chargers' chances of staying in San Diego beyond '16 "took a huge body blow" last week when the California Supreme Court temporarily "blocked a ruling by an appellate court in March" that said tax increases like the team's stadium initiative need approval from a simple majority instead of a two-thirds vote, according to Jim Alexander of the Riverside PRESS-ENTERPRISE. The Chargers now have four months to "persuade San Diego residents to vote for their 'citizens’ initiative,' which would raise hotel taxes" from 12.5% to 16.5% to help pay for a $1.8B stadium and convention center. It was a "daunting task to begin with, given (a) the reflex opposition to public funds benefiting a private company, (b) the resistance of the hotel lobby to that particular tax hike, and (c) the antipathy" that Chargers Chair Dean Spanos and his organization "created in San Diego over a decade and a half of angling for a new stadium." However, with a two-thirds majority necessary to pass and organized opposition already "mounting to a measure that hasn’t even officially qualified for the ballot yet," there might "not be a Hail Mary Play spectacular enough." There is a "theory floating around San Diego that if the measure were to garner" between 50% and 65% of the vote, that would "at least provide grounds for negotiation with the mayor and other city officials." The Chargers "could point to the vote total and say they have majority support." However, getting 50% plus one "may be a reach." The team "has not begun to campaign in earnest." San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer "has withheld his support but has not flatly opposed the initiative, either" (Riverside PRESS-ENTERPRISE, 7/3).
PEER PRESSURE: In Buffalo, Donn Esmonde noted Bills Owner Terry Pegula "isn't rolling over in the NFL stadium game." It is "nice to see Pegula and Bills President Russ Brandon resist recent chatter from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell about the 'need' for a new Bills stadium." It is "nice to hear Brandon and Pegula ignore peer pressure and say that if and when the times comes, it will be on their -- and the community's -- terms" (BUFFALO NEWS, 7/3).
