Tuesday, April 27, 2004 City approves deal; could resolve team's suit
Associated Press
SAN DIEGO -- The City Council has approved a proposed lease deal for Qualcomm Stadium that would allow the San Diego Chargers to leave town following the 2008 season as long as the team paid off $57.7 million in bonds issued for stadium upgrades.
The council approved the proposal on a 7-2 vote Monday. Attorneys for the city and the Chargers will have 45 days to forge an agreement. If consensus is reached, the deal would go back to the City Council for final approval this summer.
The proposal could end a lawsuit filed by the Chargers against the city to exercise the team's "out" clause on their current lease, signed in 1995.
The proposed lease would remove a ticket guarantee that has fueled public anger. Since 1997, when Qualcomm Stadium was expanded, the city has guaranteed the Chargers revenue equivalent to the sale of 60,000 general admission seats.
That clause has cost the city $36.4 million for unsold tickets, meaning it has netted just $6.5 million in rent from the team, or about $1 million a year, over the same period.
The city's proposal would set the Chargers' rent at $2.5 million a year through 2013; $3 million a year through 2016; and $4 million through 2020.
If the Chargers leave after the 2008 season, the team would have to pay off $57.7 million in bonds issued to expand the stadium in 1997.
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Great, LA gets a chance to lose a 4th team? They lost the Chargers once already, Raiders, and Rams too.
Portland or Birmingham would be great for NFL football, but I think they should stay away from San Antonio. There are/have been too many teams in Texas as it is.
Well, Birmingham doesnt have a stdium that would be financially beneficial for an NFL team. Plus, I think the Titans might have territorial rights. (not sure about that though).
San Antonio would be ideal. They built a stadium for the purpose of one day hosting an NFL team. THe cowboys hold thier training camp there.
LA would be ideal, because it is the number two TV Market (although the NFL seems to be doing fine without them). But, a stadium would have to be built. Too many plans have fallen by the wayside, since nobody wants to agree on where to put a stadium.
Originally posted by ZeruelGreat, LA gets a chance to lose a 4th team? They lost the Chargers once already, Raiders, and Rams too.
Portland or Birmingham would be great for NFL football, but I think they should stay away from San Antonio. There are/have been too many teams in Texas as it is.
Don't forget the Texans...who LA had first dibs at as a team...
Incidentally, here are some thoughts about possible relocation sites:
Los Angeles: The Ideal site....except for the lack of a stadium.
San Antonio: Existing stadium. Fans fanatical about football. The biggest problem, if SA got a team, would be breaking fans of their Cowboy loyalties. I don't know this for certain, but the Cowboys seem to be in the hearts of lots of Texans. But the Bikings were(relatively) close
Birmingham: Is the Market big enough? Is there a corporate base for season tickets?
Portland: They probably aren't even ready for baseball, much less the NFL.
Las Vegas: They would have to a) build a dome and b) give up gambling on NFL games. HA!
Toronto or Vancouver: Don't laugh. The NFL would covet a market of 3-million+ people. Plus SkyDome and BC Place wouldn't be horrible for NFL football. Seahawks and Bills might have something to say about rights. But the Raiders and Ravens had no problems about rights.
Columbus: Three teams in Ohio would probably be overkill.
Honolulul: Too far from the Mainland.
Mexico City: Not enough resources to support a team.
The election is still six months away. But Kerry's reputation has been built over 40 years. And the voters seem to be sniffing it out.- David S. Broder
Originally posted by GrimisIncidentally, here are some thoughts about possible relocation sites:
Los Angeles: The Ideal site....except for the lack of a stadium.
San Antonio: Existing stadium. Fans fanatical about football. The biggest problem, if SA got a team, would be breaking fans of their Cowboy loyalties. I don't know this for certain, but the Cowboys seem to be in the hearts of lots of Texans. But the Bikings were(relatively) close
Birmingham: Is the Market big enough? Is there a corporate base for season tickets?
Portland: They probably aren't even ready for baseball, much less the NFL.
Las Vegas: They would have to a) build a dome and b) give up gambling on NFL games. HA!
Toronto or Vancouver: Don't laugh. The NFL would covet a market of 3-million+ people. Plus SkyDome and BC Place wouldn't be horrible for NFL football. Seahawks and Bills might have something to say about rights. But the Raiders and Ravens had no problems about rights.
Columbus: Three teams in Ohio would probably be overkill.
Honolulul: Too far from the Mainland.
Mexico City: Not enough resources to support a team.
Better chance of being relocated next to the Northern Virginia Martian Little League team than in a Vegas without NFL betting. Wouldn't Toronto be closer to the Lions territorial hold than to the Bills? Birmingham could be intriguing, as it is in a football crazy land, and has always ended up with teams in off-shoot leagues.
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Originally posted by ZeruelGreat, LA gets a chance to lose a 4th team? They lost the Chargers once already, Raiders, and Rams too.
Portland or Birmingham would be great for NFL football, but I think they should stay away from San Antonio. There are/have been too many teams in Texas as it is.
Don't forget the Texans...who LA had first dibs at as a team...
I dunno if Tagliabue will ever give up on the idea of a team in the country's #2 market, but if the city gave up on the NFL years ago, why bother? LA doesn't exactly seem to be clamoring for NFL football; there's too much else to do in that town.
And by the way, welcome, fellow cheesehead! That's a nice Nick Barnett avatar ya got'chere.
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>San Antonio: Existing stadium. Fans fanatical about football. The biggest problem, if SA got a team, would be breaking fans of their Cowboy loyalties. I don't know this for certain, but the Cowboys seem to be in the hearts of lots of Texans. But the Bikings were(relatively) close
Birmingham:
Jerry would get over it eventually. After all, there are more Cowboy fans in Arizona than Cards fans. And Houston needs someone to pick on too. Fans around here a real inferiority complex towards Dallas.
Originally posted by GrimisIncidentally, here are some thoughts about possible relocation sites:
Los Angeles: The Ideal site....except for the lack of a stadium.
San Antonio: Existing stadium. Fans fanatical about football. The biggest problem, if SA got a team, would be breaking fans of their Cowboy loyalties. I don't know this for certain, but the Cowboys seem to be in the hearts of lots of Texans. But the Bikings were(relatively) close
Birmingham: Is the Market big enough? Is there a corporate base for season tickets?
Portland: They probably aren't even ready for baseball, much less the NFL.
Las Vegas: They would have to a) build a dome and b) give up gambling on NFL games. HA!
Toronto or Vancouver: Don't laugh. The NFL would covet a market of 3-million+ people. Plus SkyDome and BC Place wouldn't be horrible for NFL football. Seahawks and Bills might have something to say about rights. But the Raiders and Ravens had no problems about rights.
Columbus: Three teams in Ohio would probably be overkill.
Honolulul: Too far from the Mainland.
Mexico City: Not enough resources to support a team.
Better chance of being relocated next to the Northern Virginia Martian Little League team than in a Vegas without NFL betting. Wouldn't Toronto be closer to the Lions territorial hold than to the Bills? Birmingham could be intriguing, as it is in a football crazy land, and has always ended up with teams in off-shoot leagues.
No, Detroit is a good three hours from Toronto while Buffalo is about an hour if you hurry.
It's funny, I never thought anyone outside TO would seriously suggest the city would get an NFL team. There's no way it happens. A football team selling out Skydome every week would rank 30th in league attendance (based on 2003 figures), would be bringing in Canadian dollars, and would be playing in a market that only supports non-Leafs teams when they win. While I realize the NFL has a much greater general appeal, the Argos struggled to fill half the Dome even when Flutie was winning Grey Cups. As nice as it would be to have a team within three hours of here, Toronto is not an NFL market.
I think LA would be a good market to get back into, but I figure they'll probably get a stadium deal in place there right around the time pigs fly over over the frozen tundra of the underworld.
Ive heard that the CFL and the Canadian government have told the NFL that they really arent welcome in Canada. Which is why Ive never heard heard the NFL mention going to Canada in any of the recent expansion rounds. Same deal in Alabama. The U of Alabama boosters dont want anyone taking heat away from the Tide.
Plus considering the NBA AND MLB have failed in Canada I dont think the NFL would want to go there, anyway.
A few NFL writers have said that Taglibue is determined to put the NFL back in LA before he steps down as commissioner. So if I had to bet I would say that the Chargers are going. Somebody is going to build a Stadium in LA, eventually, and if the Chargers dont go, its either the Vikings or maybe the Raiders.
The networks want a team in Los Angeles so to appease them the NFL has been looking at moving either Indy or San Diego there. It doesn't matter if the team won't sell out. The networks want it because they believe that the market will do huge ratings for football.
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Originally posted by StaggerLeeI doubt NFL teams fly anyplace and have layovers.
They don't...
The election is still six months away. But Kerry's reputation has been built over 40 years. And the voters seem to be sniffing it out.- David S. Broder
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