Chargers fans are "buying tickets at a faster pace than last year," as the team is "about 4,500 ahead" of sales totals around this time in '14, according to Tom Krasovic of the SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE. The Chargers "cited several reasons for the gains, such as increased perks in recent years to season ticket-holders." Examples included a "dedicated service agent, savings relative to single-game purchases, and behind-the-scenes access to training camp, Chargers Park and Qualcomm Stadium" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 5/5). SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL's Daniel Kaplan notes in contrast, the Rams are "off significantly from their level of sales at this point a year ago." The Raiders, the Chargers’ partner in the potential Carson, Calif., stadium, "are about even." The Chargers "declined to specify" either the number of season-ticket sales they had in place at this time a year ago, or "how many were sold" by the time the '14 season began. Sources said that in St. Louis, where Rams Owner Stan Kroenke has been up front about wanting to relocate, the team "has seen full-season-ticket sales down by a double-digit percentage to date compared with last year." The team "would not comment specifically on numbers but conceded that sales were soft." But Rams COO & Exec VP/Football Operations Kevin Demoff said the team has "plenty of time to make it up." Kaplan notes Raiders fans have "become accustomed to the team having one-year leases and possible relocation hovering over the franchise." As for why St. Louis and San Diego "would have such different results, there are a few theories making the rounds in NFL circles." One of them is "based on public strategy: namely, that Kroenke may have alienated fans with his refusal to engage in new-stadium talks in St. Louis and the unveiling of a venue in Inglewood, Calif." (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 5/4 issue).
THE AMAZING RACE: In San Diego, Dan McSwain wrote Kroenke this year will continue to be the "most dangerous man in football." Chargers President Dean Spanos, who "says he wants to stay in San Diego, now must place a huge bet on moving to Carson, with or without the Raiders." Spanos "must either beat [the Rams] into L.A., join them, or seal a deal with San Diego and rebuild his season ticket base." If Kroenke "gets there alone and first, Spanos loses leverage with San Diego, and his lease at Qualcomm expires" in '20. Without the Raiders, picking Kroenke over Spanos "would seem a safer bet." Nobody "wants a struggling team, and either must build a new market" in L.A. while recovering well north of $1B in "construction costs, after the sale of seat licenses and NFL funds." The "Kroenke clock forces Spanos to move full speed ahead in Carson." If San Diego "can’t place hard cash on the table by November, the Chargers face a future battling for fans with a local competitor." In this context, St. Louis "may even start to look good to a panicking Spanos family." Some people, particularly boosters of Qualcomm redevelopment, say that Spanos is "just bluffing in Carson." McSwain: "Maybe. But Kroenke? I wouldn’t bet on it" (
SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 5/3).
