OCEANSIDE -- It's the $700 million question: How to build a football stadium in Oceanside that will benefit both the city and the San Diego Chargers?

Oceanside and team officials said last week that they want to discuss the possibility of building a stadium on the city-owned Center City Golf Course off Interstate 5, using money the team would reap from building a commercial development of some sort to finance the venture.

The two groups said they expect later this week to begin exploring different ways they could work together to create a new home for the National Football League team and a new source of revenue and prestige for the city.

"The bottom line is that this has to end up being a good deal for the city," Councilwoman Esther Sanchez said Friday. "This can be a win-win for the city and team."

The Chargers want to leave aging Qualcomm Stadium within the next decade. After four years of talks with the city of San Diego and six months of discussions with Chula Vista and National City, Oceanside emerged earlier this month as another contender for a stadium.

The team has said it doesn't expect any city to provide it with money or bonds to help build a stadium, but that it is looking for a city to provide an attractive site.

The team told Oceanside Mayor Jim Wood in a letter Friday that "our goal is to privately finance the stadium with the profits from a commercial development project that your city would help us carry out."

Development decisions

Chargers officials have said they want land for a stadium and a development, saying that the revenues from the development would help pay for the stadium. The team hasn't decided what type of development would work best in Oceanside, said Mark Fabiani, the lead negotiator for the Chargers on stadium proposals.

"Obviously, it depends on what the public is willing to support," said Fabiani, who added that it could be housing or even some sort of entertainment complex. He said maybe the team could even build centers to host meetings, conventions or weddings.

"Our goal is find a way to use the stadium 365 days a year, and having an empty stadium sitting there is a bad use of the land," Fabiani said. "We hope to accomplish something that is really creative and adds to the community."

The Chargers had proposed several years ago that the city of San Diego give the team 60 acres at Qualcomm Stadium to help them build a stadium. The team planned to build 6,000 condominiums, a hotel, offices and shops, then use the profits for a new stadium.

Councilman Rocky Chavez said he expected that at least part of a Chargers development in Oceanside would include houses or condos.

Sanchez said she would like to see some more office space in Oceanside and that she would be interested in seeing a mix of shops, offices and condos on a portion of the site.

Fabiani said the development depends on the site layout, which raises the question of what property Oceanside would be willing to give to the team. Fabiani has said a stadium would take only about 15 acres, and that the amount of space for parking and other developments would depend on the site that the team selects.

Surrounding property

Mayor Jim Wood said properties next to the 70-plus-acre golf course -- commonly called Goat Hill because of its steep terrain -- could be included in a stadium project.

On the northeast end of the course, the city owns roughly 20 acres that currently include a park, senior center and Boys & Girls Club. "They certainly could come into play," Mayor Wood said.

He said the city might move those activities to other parts of the city.

Sanchez said many residents use the services and resources offered on the site, and the activities would have to be moved nearby if the city gives the land to the team.

Fabiani said the Chargers are "focusing solely on the golf course and trying to make it work," but that "we certainly are aware of the surrounding area."

North and east of the property are homes and apartments, and south of the golf course are several older shopping centers along Oceanside Boulevard.

City officials said they expected the property values around the golf course to increase significantly because it could be included in the deal.

City officials have said it would be too early to talk about eminent domain, which allows a city to seize private property for public purposes.

Fabiani said eminent domain "is something we would like to avoid if at all possible. City officials said the issue hasn't been discussed, but didn't want to rule it out yet.

"Everything is possible at this point," Councilman Jack Feller said.

If the Chargers can't build a development on the golf course property that would pay for the stadium, they could ask the city to give them property elsewhere for that purpose.

Jane McVey, Oceanside's director of economic development and redevelopment, noted last week that while the owners of the Chargers have a lot of money, "the one thing they can't make is land."

In return for land, the Chargers would make the deal attractive for the city and the residents. Voters would have to approve changing the parkland designation of the golf course.

Some residents near the site have already raised concerns that a stadium would turn the area into gridlock on game days.

"We are mindful of the need to present a plan that is acceptable to the people of Oceanside and that is sensitive to the need to preserve open space, manage traffic flow, and generate new tax revenue for city services," Chargers President Dean Spanos wrote in his letter to Wood on Friday.

Parkland payback

McVey said that if the city allowed the Chargers to build a stadium on the golf course, they would probably build recreation facilities for residents somewhere else in town. McVey said one possibility is that the team would help develop El Corazon, a 465-acre city-owned property in central Oceanside that the city plans to turn into a massive park.

Before a stadium was built in Oceanside, major road improvements to Interstate 5 would be needed, as well as to surrounding streets, city officials said. Already, speculation has arisen about building an interchange leading directly into the stadium to reduce traffic tie-ups on Mission Avenue and Oceanside Boulevard.

Team and city officials said that deciding who will pay for all the improvements needs to be negotiated.

Councilman Jerry Kern said that the city's contribution to the Chargers will depend on what the city can get in return.

"We need to see what the payback is," Kern said. "The major concern is, everyone benefits economically.

"Everything will be a surprise until we see what level of development will be needed. That will be the shock factor."

Staff writer Ann Perry contributed to this article. Contact staff writer David Sterrett at (760) 901-4067 or dsterrett@nctimes.com.