Part 2 in a series
By John Lawrence
I previously reported on the 110 Pages of Gobbledygook that represents the Chargers’ proposal to build a combination football stadium and convention center expansion in downtown. It looks like it’s not going to happen because Mayor Kevin Faulconer and a lot of conservative businessmen are against it.
Perhaps the Chargers assumed that Faulconer would immediately climb on the bandwagon and start cheering for the so-called convadium.
Faulconer, however, to his credit has been cautious, questioning the $1.15 billion in new debt the City would have to take on as its part in this endeavor. The Chargers casually gloss over this in their gobbledygook proposal. And they say nothing about the $50 million still owed on Qualcomm Stadium as if that’s not even something worth mentioning.
As if this wasn’t bad enough, recent state Supreme Court ruling means that the Chargers will probably have to have a two-thirds approval from the voters in November instead of a simple majority. This makes their uphill climb that much steeper especially since it has finally dawned on the American public that tax giveaways to billionaire owners of professional football teams are not a good idea.
Local Politicians Don’t Want a Convadium
I have now read or scanned the 110 pages, and I have a few (quite a few) reservations about the proposal, but they pale in comparison to the developments involving prominent politicians and businessmen who are against it.
Joe Terzi, the head of the Tourism Authority, said the Chargers’ plan is just not something industry leaders wanted.
Terzi continued:
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