The San Diego Chargers have been seeking a new stadium to replace Qualcomm Stadium for over a decade. With a new mayor set to take office, the team looks to once again push for a new stadium to call home.
According to Bernie Wilson of the Associated Press, the Chargers will look to meet with newly elected mayor Kevin Faulconer once he’s been sworn in and assembled a staff. Attorney Mark Fabini said the team is looking for a special election in June 2015 to seek approval for a new stadium plan.
Any plans to put together a new arena plan up to this point have been stalled due to a myriad of issues at City Hall. Prior mayor Bob Filner’s resigned amid sexual harassment allegations necessitating a new election for the position. Faulconer’s appointment should bring some stability to the city and could give the Chargers a chance to get a project off the ground.
“The most important thing is that somebody is going to be in office and hopefully will be in office for quite a while,” Fabiani said. “That’s far more important than who the person in office is. ... Now that there’s a new mayor, hopefully we can get some answers pretty quickly and figure out how to move ahead.”
The Chargers have struggled to sell out games at Qualcomm Stadium the past few seasons and the decaying stadium has fallen out of consideration for hosting Super Bowls. However, finding public financing for stadiums in California has long been a difficult proposition. The Chargers hope a change in political leadership will be the boost they need to get a new stadium sometime in the foreseeable future.