The Chargers chose not to reduce the minimum number of tickets that need to be sold to avoid a blackout. As a result, the team’s first regular-season home game of the season could be blacked out.
According to Michael Gehlken of U-T San Diego, several thousand tickets remain for Sunday’s game against the Titans. The shortfall exists despite an aggressive effort to market the game, from a “White Hot Sunday” gimmick that entails the players wearing all white uniforms and fans being encouraged to wear white shirts to the presence of No. 55 helmet decals in honor of the late Junior Seau.
If the remaining non-premium tickets aren’t sold by 4:25 p.m. ET on Thursday, the game will be blacked out locally.
The bigger question is whether the Chargers will buy the unsold seats at 34 cents on the dollar, given the team’s refusal to ensure local TV by reducing their minimum sales obligation.
And the even bigger question is whether a refusal by the team to buy the tickets could be part of a broader effort to lay the foundation for a move up the road to Los Angeles.