A Deloitte & Touche study commissioned by the city of
San Diego predicts that the city will lose more than $1M in
rent receipts for Qualcomm Stadium every season through 2006
"because of a ticket guarantee it signed with the Chargers,"
according to Ronald Powell of the SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE.
Estimates have ticket sales to Chargers games through 2020
averaging 56,000 per game. Under the agreement, the city
must pay the team for any unsold general-admission seats
below an average of 60,000, with the payment in the form of
rent reduction. Last year, the first of the deal, the team
had a rent reduction of $1.3M. City Manager Michael
Uberuaga said he "hopes the Chargers have a successful
season," because in that event "general-admission ticket
sales should reach the 60,000-seat level." Short of that,
"he would be willing to ask the Chargers, Qualcomm or others
to help pay for unsold tickets." Last season, the Chargers
and Qualcomm bought "nearly" 40,000 unsold seats, saving the
city another $1.6M (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 3/24).
