Tagliabue: Chargers' stadium issue an urgent situation

By: JAY PARIS - Staff Writer | Friday, January 30, 2004 11:43 PM PST ∞

HOUSTON ---- The Chargers' fluid stadium situation was among the topics tackled by NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue on Friday in his state of the game address.

"From where I sit and listen, we've made some progress and we've had some setbacks in San Diego, we being the Chargers and the league working with the Chargers, and trying to work with the city," he said. "Sometimes it's one step forward and two steps backwards, sometimes it's two steps forward and one step backwards."

The team's dance with San Diego is over the trigger clause in its current Qualcomm Stadium lease. The Chargers claim they have reached the financial standard allowing them to renegotiate the contract, and/or shop the team to other cities, with San Diego being able to match any offer.

But months of talks have stalled, with the parties heading to court to determine if the trigger-clause issue has been met.

"I think the Chargers have triggered under the lease," Tagliabue said. "I know that's under litigation. That gives them the opportunity to talk elsewhere. To me, the key thing is that, to the Chargers' credit, they've continued to focus on getting something done in San Diego, and they haven't been, to this point, actively exploring opportunities elsewhere, whether it's Los Angeles or elsewhere."

Tagliabue met with San Diego Mayor Dick Murphy in December in an attempt to jump-start negotiations. That wasn't long after the Chargers filed suit over the trigger clause in L.A., although the matter was later moved to San Diego.

"Right now, I think there's, unfortunately, some sense of a growing impasse and an absence of a sense of urgency," Tagliabue said. "And what we're going to try to do working with the city, with the Mayor, with his staff and with the Chargers is try to avoid an impasse and get a sense of urgency back into the process, because I think it is an urgent situation. And there probably are solutions if we don't lose our patience."

Tagliabue said the dynamics of forging a deal haven't changed, despite last fall's tragic wildfires that hit the region, San Diego's pension pool being underfunded by some $1 billion and California facing its biggest budget deficit in history.

The Chargers have offered to build a stadium if the city would turn over a portion of the land surrounding the venue so the team can create an urban village. The tax funds from those ancillary projects would, according to the Chargers, pay the city's cost of the development.

"I think the critical thing in San Diego is that the proposal that the Chargers made does not involve tax money coming from general funds," Tagliabue said.

"It involves a real estate development project, and it would have the incremental tax revenues going towards the construction of the stadium. I think there's quite a broad recognition within San Diego on both sides of the table that that's a unique concept that has some real viability for San Diego.

"So I don't think the other things that (were) mentioned have much to do with the discussion. They should be focusing on the opportunity that they have, which is unique, and not what I see as generalities that are sort of beside the point."

What can't be ignored is the Chargers' woeful showing the past eight years, a span in which they haven't reached the playoffs or compiled a winning season.

That, too, hasn't helped their cause.

Tagliabue, though, said that should have no bearing on constructing a stadium.

"I've said for about 10 years that stadiums are about community interest," he said. "What is good in the long term, and not about whether a team is going to the Super Bowl or not. A stadium was built in Atlanta, which was a wonderful thing, at the time the team was not performing well.

"You can't approach these things that you build a stadium when you win a Super Bowl, and you don't build a stadium when you don't win a Super Bowl."

Tagliabue also mentioned the NFL has made "a lot of progress" in returning a team to the L.A.-area. He spoke of potential sites in Carson ---- where the Chargers hold training camp ---- the Rose Bowl in Pasadena and the L.A. Memorial Coliseum.