Chargers stadium vote could come in December
San Diego mayor Kevin Faulconer said a public vote on a new $1.4 billion stadium for the Chargers could happen as soon as December.
Representatives from city hall and San Diego County have met at least twice to start negotiations on financial plans for a new NFL stadium in the city’s Mission Valley area, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.
In order for the vote to take place, those negotiations would have to be accelerated and a deal would need to be reached with the City Council approval of the ballot measure by Sept. 18.
“San Diegans deserve a vote on a new stadium and today we discussed a framework that allows for a vote this year,” Faulconer said, according to the Union-Tribune.
The Chargers declined to comment on the possibility of a public vote on the stadium.
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“We need to meet at least once a week for the next several weeks, and we’re committed to doing that if not more,” Faulconer said. “A public vote provides more certainty and saves time by removing the possibility of a costly and lengthy referendum challenge.
The Chargers have also explored a $1.7 billion stadium to be shared with the Oakland Raiders in Carson, Calif., which the Carson city council unanimously approved a stadium plan last month.
Faulconer’s financial plan for the stadium includes receiving $121 million each from county and city taxpayers and $225 million from selling city land at the current site of Qualcomm Stadium.
Another $200 million for the stadium would come from the NFL.
If a vote does take place in December, it would be only weeks before the NFL's deadline for teams to submit paperwork about their intentions to relocate.
NFL executive vice president Eric Grubman, who is the league’s point man on franchise relocations, told city officials that “time is slipping away” on a stadium plan and would like to see the issue resolved well before a June 2016 primary.
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