Four San Diego City Council members will offer Chargers Chair Dean Spanos an annual $1 lease for 99 years "for the Qualcomm Stadium site as a starting point for negotiations for a new stadium," according to Bernie Wilson of the AP. The offer is being made in a letter sent today to Spanos, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and "the 31 other NFL owners." The Chargers have until Jan. 15 "to exercise an option to join the Rams" in the new Inglewood stadium scheduled to open in '19. The letter in part reads, "If we fail to come to an agreement, at least we will know that nothing was left untested and we can part ways knowing that we gave it our all." The Chargers "didn't immediately respond to a request for comment" (AP, 12/12).
SEEKING A DEBT WAIVER: The Chargers tomorrow at the league's owners' meeting will look to waive the NFL mandated debt limit so the club can borrow half of the $550M relocation fee it would be assessed to relocate to L.A., sources said. The request does not necessarily mean the Chargers will automatically trigger its right to move in with the Rams in Inglewood. However, the debt move underscores the Spanoses realize it may need help to afford a move up the coast. The Rams were hit with the $550M fee when it moved 11 months ago, but team Owner Stan Kroenke has no waiver for the fee, which is payable over 10 years. Teams can borrow $250M against their clubs, so the Chargers would be able to borrow half the $550M, or another $275M of debt on top of the $250M. It is unclear if the Chargers have borrowed up to the existing limit already. The team declined to comment. The debt waiver and the agreement with the Rams is on the agenda for tomorrow’s meeting in Irving, Texas, sources said. Some observers expect the league to pressure the Chargers to try again in San Diego, where voters in November overwhelmingly voted down raising some taxes for a new stadium. If the Chargers do not trigger the option, the Raiders could move to L.A. The Raiders are focused on Las Vegas, and most insiders in the NFL do not want the Raiders back in L.A. (Daniel Kaplan, Staff Writer).
