San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer is "endorsing the Chargers stadium ballot measure after reaching agreement with the team on a series of new financial safeguards and other concessions," according to a front-page piece by David Garrick of the SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE. Support from Faulconer "could boost the measure’s chances of success on Nov. 8." If the measure fails, the working relationship forged between Faulconer and team officials during months of negotiations on the concessions "could help the city and the Chargers quickly begin work on finding another stadium solution." Faulconer's relationship "has been strained with the Chargers since they tried to move" to L.A. last year and "abruptly ended stadium negotiations with him." The Chargers "have agreed to eight separate concessions that Faulconer says significantly strengthen the team’s initiative, which will appear on the ballot as Measure C." The measure "would raise San Diego’s hotel taxes" from 12.5% to 16.5% to "help pay for a combined downtown stadium and convention center annex next to Petco Park." The concessions "include the team agreeing to cover any escalation in construction or land costs beyond current estimates, guaranteeing that city general fund money will never be used for the project and promising that money for tourism marketing will stay at its current level." The project "won’t be built if the Chargers don’t fulfill each of the eight promises." Faulconer said that financial safeguards are the "most important of the eight concessions" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 10/3).
CONCESSION STANCE: The UNION-TRIBUNE's Garrick noted the Chargers on Friday "landed a key endorsement" for the ballot measure from the Downtown San Diego Partnership by "agreeing to a long list of concessions sought by the group." The concessions "address concerns the partnership has about parking, signage, transportation options and potential scheduling conflicts with the Padres and the San Diego Convention Center." Other concessions "address lighting, noise, preserving historic resources and softening the physical presence of the combined stadium and convention center annex the team has proposed across from Petco Park." The partnership got the Chargers to "make some financial promises that address concerns raised previously by groups that oppose the Chargers’ measure" and by Faulconer. The letter from Chargers Chair Dean Spanos promises the team "will not move forward with the project if any of the promises made by the team haven’t been kept." On the financial promises, the team "would have to cover any shortfalls that could affect the general fund or tourism marketing" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 10/1).
GLASS HALF FULL: In San Diego, Michael Smolens wrote "almost no one thinks the Chargers can get the two-thirds voter support needed on Nov. 8." While outright victory with the supermajority is "of course the goal, the NFL franchise may get some satisfaction if Measure C gets" more than 50%. That "doesn’t get the Chargers the hotel-tax increase their initiative seeks, but it may give them more than a moral victory." It gives them an "argument and maybe some leverage for the next round of negotiations" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 10/2).
