The Chargers will meet with the committee that has been formed to explore the building of a new stadium in San Diego. The Chargers also have publicly released their comments to the committee.
In their remarks, the Chargers were direct and blunt (and some would say maybe even a little condescending) regarding their expectations when it comes to any ideas to be proposed by San Diego — and regarding a long-time Plan B that possibly has become Plan A.
“We are keeping a close eye on developments in L.A.,” the Chargers said in their remarks to the committee. “We do not have a choice but to also monitor and evaluate our options there. Simply put, it would be irresponsible for the Chargers not to be taking every possible step to protect the future of the franchise.”
The Chargers also made clear their belief that 20 years without a team in Los Angeles has helped the franchise make significant inroads there, with 25 percent of the season-ticket holders coming from L.A. County and Orange County.
“Simply put, it would not be fair to the Chargers — a team that has worked for 14 years to find a stadium solution in San Diego County — to allow other teams that themselves abandoned the LA market to now return and gut the Chargers’ local revenue stream,” the Chargers told the committee, which has no power over whether teams other than the Chargers move to L.A.
A full reading of the summary and the entire remarks leads to one conclusion: The Chargers want San Diego to put up or shut up. The Chargers definitely don’t want San Diego to simply try to come up with a flimsy, hollow proposal so that the politicians can say an effort was made.
That attitude will make the Chargers leery of any proposal that emerges, quick to point out the flaws and to argue that the politicians are merely trying to ensure that the Chargers, not the people who periodically are up for re-election, will be blamed if the Chargers leave.
It’s all pointing to the Chargers eventually (or sooner) becoming one of the teams to move to L.A, with the other remaining question being whether the other team that moves there is the Rams or the Raiders.