San Diego Stadium Timeline

November 1965 The citizens of San Diego enthusiastically approve a $27million stadium bond, by a 72 percent landslide vote, thus allowing
construction to begin on a stadium in Mission Valley.
December 18, 1965 -- Ground is broken on San Diego Stadium in Mission
Valley. Construction cost: $27.75 million. The stadium is located
immediately northwest of the interchange of Interstate 8 and Interstate 15.
The neighborhood surrounding the stadium is known as Mission Valley, in
reference to the Mission San Diego de Alcala, which is located to the east,
and its placement in the valley of the San Diego River.
August 20, 1967 San Diego Stadium (53,000 seats) opens with an
exhibition game between the San Diego Chargers and the Detroit Lions. The
Chargers were then a member of the American Football League.
1968 The Chargers were the main tenant of the San Diego Mission Valley
stadium until 1968, when the AAA Pacific Coast League San Diego Padres
played its last season in the stadium, following their move from minorleague sized Westgate Park.
1969 Due to expansion of Major League Baseball, the AAA Pacific Coast
League Padres were replaced by the current San Diego Padres major-league
team in 1969. The Padres played in the San Diego Mission Valley stadium
until they moved out after the 2003 season.
September 24, 1980 San Diego sportswriter Jack Murphy, who helped
propose the Los Angeles Chargers American Football League team become
a San Diego franchise; who helped convince the city of San Diego to build a
new stadium for the Chargers, and who helped secure the San Diego Padres
as a National League expansion team, dies.
December 22, 1980 San Diego Mayor Pete Wilson announces the stadium
would be renamed San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium to honor the late
sportswriter. It also was known by its nickname, The Murph.

April 11, 1983 San Diego Chargers execute a 20-year lease, which calls for
the expansion of Jack Murphy Stadium to 60,100 seats, including 50 luxury
suites. Construction commences on October 10, 1983 and concludes on May
1, 1984.
August 1, 1984 Alex G. Spanos purchases a majority interest in the
Chargers from Eugene V. Klein. Spanos, of Stockton, Calif., is one of
Americas leading apartment complex builders.
August 28, 1984 Alex Spanos is officially approved by a majority vote of
NFL Owners as the new owner of the San Diego Chargers. Im on cloud
nine, Spanos said. This is the culmination of a dream, a lifelong dream.
Im a very happy man today. He purchases the team for $40.3 million, plus
$8 million to cover seasons deficit.
January 31, 1988 San Diego hosts Super Bowl XXII in San Diego Jack
Murphy Stadium, as the Washington Redskins defeat the Denver Broncos,
42-10.
December 7, 1992 Susan Golding is elected Mayor of San Diego.
October 27, 1993 The NFL Owners meet in suburban Chicago and award
Super Bowl XXXII scheduled for January 25, 1988 to San Diego.
November 9, 1993 In recognition of Alex Spanos efforts to bring Super
Bowl XXXII to San Diego, Mayor Susan Golding proclaims November 9,
1983 Alex Spanos Day in the city of San Diego.
December 12, 1993 Barron Hilton is honored before the Chargers-Green
Bay Packers game with a tribute and unveiling of a bronze statue of him to
be on permanent display at Jack Murphy Stadium. Hilton was one of the
founding members of the American Football League in 1959 and brought the
Chargers to San Diego in 1961 to become the citys first major league sports
franchise.
Early 1994 Dean Spanos, the oldest son of Alex Spanos, is named
President and Chief Executive Officer of the Chargers.
January 15, 1995 The Chargers advance to the Super Bowl for the first
time in franchise history with a stunning 17-13 victory over the heavily-

favored Pittsburgh Steelers at Three Rivers Stadium. Linebacker Dennis

Gibson knocked down a Neil ODonnell pass and stopped the Steelers on
downs on the Chargers three-yard line with 1:04 left in the game. The team
returns to San Diego following the game and is greeted by an estimated
crowd of 70,000 screaming fans in San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium.
January 29, 1995 In Super Bowl XXIX in Miami, Fla., the Chargers suffer
a 49-26 loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
January 30, 1995 More than 100,000 people crowd the streets of
downtown San Diego at a post-Super Bowl parade to show their support for
the Chargers upon their return from Miami.
March 6, 1995 The Chargers extend their lease through 2020 and the city
announces it will add 10,500 seats and another 34 luxury suites, 4 Club
Lounges, upgraded food service plus a new Jumbotron. The new lease
provides the Chargers the rights to all concessions, parking, merchandise,
premium seat revenue and stadium signage; promises the city will build the
Chargers a new training facility on Murphy Canyon Road, and promises the
city will purchase tickets to guarantee the Chargers a sellout for every home
game for the duration of the lease. The ticket guarantee obligates the city
to ensure the Chargers receive revenue equal to the price of 60,000 general
admission tickets for every home game from 1997 through preseason 2007.
(From 1997 until the ticket guarantee was eliminated in July 2004, the city
paid the team $34.8 million.) The city anticipates purchasing a $60-million
bond to cover the cost of the expansion.
1997 There is an $18-million shortfall in the cost of construction in the
stadium expansion. Qualcomm agrees to cover the shortfall in exchange for
the naming rights to the stadium through 2017. The stadium is renamed
Qualcomm Stadium. Thanks to Qualcomms $18-million infusion, the
stadium construction is able to move forward, and ultimately be completed,
bringing the capacity to 70,561 and making the stadium Super Bowlcompliant.
January 25, 1998 San Diego hosts Super Bowl XXXII at Qualcomm
Stadium, with the Denver Broncos defeating the Green Bay Packers, 31-24.
Super Bowl XXXII made Qualcomm Stadium the only stadium in history to
have the Super Bowl and World Series in the same year.

May 26, 1999 Super Bowl XXXVII is awarded to San Diego at an NFL
Owners meeting in Atlanta, Ga.
March 2000 Alex Spanos announces in a radio interview, at the NFL
Owners meeting in Orlando, Fla., that he wants a new stadium in San Diego.
December 4, 2000 Dick Murphy is sworn in as Mayor of San Diego. (In
part, due to the controversial Chargers ticket guarantee, which she had
spearheaded in the deal to expand Qualcomm Stadium, Mayor Susan
Golding did not run re-election.)
2001-2002 San Diegos pension fund plunges below the ratio of assets to
liabilities set as a safety net in a 1996 deal. (The City Council had approved
City Manager Jack McGrorys plan to increase benefits and underfund the
pension system, with gradually increased payments and a safety net to
guarantee financial integrity of the system.) City faces a massive balloon
payment.
2002 A Blue Ribbon Committee on City Finances warns San Diegos
pension system is at risk. Pension trustee Diann Shipione contends the
deficit will grow and warns Mayor and City Council against continued
underfunding and benefit increases.
April 22, 2002 Dean Spanos states in a letter to Mayor Dick Murphy that
the recent wave of new stadiums that have opened across the county has
dramatically shifted the economics of the NFL and have put teams in older
stadiums at a significant competitive disadvantage. As a result, Qualcomm
Stadium is not an economically viable long-term option for the Chargers.
Spanos also states that the team met the conditions last year to trigger an
escape clause in its lease and expects to do so again this year. (As long as
certain salary-related conditions are met, the Chargers have a two-month
window in which to rigger the clause, beginning Dec. 1.) I firmly believe it
is in the best interests of both the city and the Chargers to begin negotiations
now, rather than forcing the Chargers to trigger the contractual renegotiation
right, Spanos states in the letter.
May 9, 2002 The Chargers announce a five-year agreement to hold their
training camp at the Home Depot National Training Center in Carson, Calif.,
on the campus of California State University Dominguez Hills, beginning in
2003. The new $120-million sports complex is owned by Philip Anschutz.

May 14, 2002 Dean Spanos hires Mark Fabiani as Special Counsel to the
President of the Chargers. According to the Chargers media guide,
Fabianis primary function with the club is to work with the San Diego
community to explore opportunities for a new state-of-the-art football
stadium in the San Diego region. In his April 22 letter to Mayor Dick
Murphy, Spanos states he is assembling a negotiating team to be led by
Mark Fabiani. Mark is a renowned strategist and problem solver and is
particularly well suited for this task, Spanos writes.
May 27, 2002 Mayor Dick Murphy releases Dean Spanos letter to the
public.
May 28, 2002 The Philip Anschutz-backed group, interested in building an
NFL stadium in the South Park area of downtown Los Angeles, formally
approaches the Chargers about relocating to LA, according to Mark Fabiani.
Fabiani confirms the interest to the LA Times a day later.
June 2002 Mayor Dick Murphy proposes, and the City Council approves,
the establishment of a citizens task force to address the issues surrounding
the San Diego Chargers and their long-term utilization of Qualcomm
Stadium.
July 23, 2002 Fifteen people were appointed by Mayor Dick Murphy, eight
from a pool of citizens nominated by the City Council, to form the Citizens
Task Force on Chargers Issues. The members were confirmed by the City
Council on July 23, 2002 and began their work immediately.
January 15, 2003 The Chargers announce an initial proposal for a new
stadium and mixed-used development project in Mission Valley. The
Chargers propose the team, with the help of NFL funding, would pay for 50
percent of a $400-million stadium and the city would pay for the rest. The
Chargers ask the city to give them 60 acres at the Qualcomm site for no cost.
The Chargers ask the city to issue bonds for $150-million to $175-million to
pay for traffic and other infrastructure costs. The Chargers mix-use
development proposal, referred to as an urban village and laid out in an
HOK architectural presentation, includes: Residential 1,000 units to 3,200
units; Office Space 500,000-square-feet to 1,150,000-square-feet; Retail
100,000-square-feet to 350,000- square-feet; Hotel 300 rooms to 450 rooms
and River Park 9 acres to 18 acres.

January 24, 2003 -- Two days before Super Bowl XXXVII, in a news
conference at the San Diego Convention Center, NFL Commissioner Paul
Tagliabue states, Im surprised were here this week. I think its unlikely
that there will be a Super Bowl in San Diego in the near future.
January 26, 2003 San Diego hosts Super Bowl XXXVII at Qualcomm
Stadium, with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeating the Oakland Raiders,
48-21.
March 4, 2003 The Chargers activate the trigger in their lease agreement
with the City of San Diego for Qualcomm Stadium to begin negotiations to
replace the 36-year-old stadium.
March 6, 2003 The Citizens Task Force on Chargers Issues, after seven
months of information gathering, public testimony, analysis, deliberation and
decision-making, delivers their 78-page final report recommending that the
city and the Chargers focus on negotiating an agreement leasing the 166acre, Mission Valley Qualcomm Stadium site to the Chargers. Their
recommendations: The Chargers would pay 100 percent of the costs of
constructing a new stadium. The lease also would require the Chargers to
construct a riverfront park and an active recreation park as set forth in the
Mission Valley Community Plan. The Chargers could seek additional
entitlements to develop portions of the site for commercial and/or housing
uses. Any new tax revenues generated from this new development could be
used for payment of infrastructure, the parks and existing bond debt. The
Task Force believes the negotiating principles in the Final Report represent
fiscally conservative guidelines that 1.) Protect taxpayers, 2.) Provide the
Chargers an opportunity to construct a new stadium, and 3.) Create the
potential for two parks on the site.
July 2003 The Chargers offer an amendment to their proposed Mission
Valley stadium proposal: The Chargers say they and a development partner
will pay for the entire project.
July 22, 2003 The Chargers open training camp at the Home Deport
Training Center in Carson, Calif., after spending the previous 27 training
camps (1976-2002) at the University of California, San Diego in La Jolla,
Calif.

2003 The Citys pension crisis, partially caused by diverting the systems
surplus earnings to pay for popular initiatives such as the ballpark, the
Convention Center expansion and the cost of hosting the 1996 Republican
National Convention, comes to a head. The total amount of the deficit is
estimated to be in excess of $2.7 billion.
November 26, 2003 The Chargers file a lawsuit in Los Angeles County
Superior Court, asking a judge to decide of the team has validly triggered the
renegotiation clause in the teams lease with the city. The lawsuit seeks no
money or other damages from the city. Fabiani says in a press release: The
Chargers filed this action because we had no other choice. The public
deserves to know whether or not the Chargers have validly triggered. The
trigger issue must be resolved before voters can be asked to support a new
stadium. Unfortunately, the City has refused a joint business/labor proposal
to arbitrate the trigger issue, and so the Chargers were left with no choice but
to bring todays action. The lawsuit has one simple purpose. The court is
being asked to determine whether the Chargers have validly triggered the
leases renegotiation clause. The lawsuit does not seek any money or other
damages from the city. The Chargers will immediately drop the lawsuit if the
city agrees to resolve the trigger issue through binding arbitration. Fabiani
says since the Chargers triggered the renegotiation clause on March 4, 2003,
the 90-day negotiation period has been extended two times at the request of
the city, and that negotiators for the city and the Chargers have met 34 times.
The last extension expires May 1, 2004.
February 2004 The City of San Diegos credit ratings fall. The City is
unable to sell bonds to borrow money for capital projects.
February 2004 The FBI confirms joint investigation of City finances with
the Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Attorneys Office.
February 2004 The Chargers offer another amendment to their proposed
Mission Valley stadium proposal: They will drop the request for city
financial assistance and propose to pick up the $150 million to $175 million
cost for roads and infrastructure. The Chargers commit that the team and a
development partner would use the land to build at least 6,000
condominiums, a hotel, offices and retail shops. The Chargers would use the
sales and the leases to pay for the new stadium and to make a profit.

July 2, 2004 The Chargers and the City announce a new lease agreement,
which brings to an end the controversial ticket guarantee and the lawsuit
filed against the city by the Chargers, but permits the team to relocate after
the 2008 season. The lease provides annual opt-outs beginning in 2009 and
extending through the term of the agreement in 2020. Said Chargers Special
Counsel Mark Fabiani: The Chargers are agreeing to this lease agreement
for one simple reason. We want to be in San Diego permanently. The final
tally: From 1997 until the ticket guarantee was eliminated in July 2004,
the city paid the Chargers $34.8 million.
September 2004 Standard & Poors suspends San Diegos credit rating.
The New York Times refers to San Diego as Enron by the Sea, a term
consistently repeated in the national media.
November 2004 Dick Murphy is re-elected Mayor of San Diego. Michael
Aguirre is elected City Attorney. San Diego city voters approve ballot
propositions to restructure pension board and close pension deficit within 15
years.
December 3, 2004 Moodys places San Diego on a watch list for possible
downgrade ratings of general obligation bonds.
July 2005 The Chargers return to San Diego for training camp, hosting it at
their offices at Murphy Canyon Road.
April 18, 2005 Time magazine names Mayor Dick Murphy one of
Americas three worst big-city mayors in America, saying he is discredited
by the pension mess. Murphy says more negative national news wont affect
tourism or the citys faltering financial outlook, but he says it could
jeopardize business recruitment and the chances of being picked as the
headquarters of the states new stem cell institute.
May 27, 2005 Fitch ratings downgrades San Diegos credit rating the
third such downgrade in 15 months.
July 15, 2005 Dick Murphy resigns, facing mounting criticism over his
controversial re-election victory and failure to adequately address the
pension under-funding problem.

July 15, 2005 City Councilmember Michael Zucchet, the Deputy Mayor, is
named interim Mayor of San Diego.
July 18, 2005 Michael Zucchet resigns as interim Mayor of San Diego. He
is convicted in U.S. District Court of one count of conspiracy, five counts of
wire fraud and three counts of extortion. This was in connection with an
alleged scheme also involving fellow City Councilmembers Ralph Inzunza
and Charles L. Lewis to get the citys no touch laws at strip clubs
repealed. (Later, Zucchets conviction was overturned and his acquittal was
upheld on appeal.)
July 19, 2005 City Councilmember Toni Atkins, in an emergency vote, is
chosen by the other five council members to take over as mayor pro-tem for
one week.
Jul 25, 2005 The City Council confirms their choice and names Toni
Atkins interim Mayor of San Diego.
August 2, 2005 Moodys downgrades City of San Diego general obligation
bonds from A3 to A1.
December 5, 2005 After a special runoff election, Jerry Sanders is sworn in
as Mayor of San Diego. He receives 54 percent of the votes over City
Councilmember Donna Frye.
January 9, 2006 The Chargers drop their plans to put a Mission Valley
stadium proposal on the ballot, with Fabiani stating the Citys precarious
finances, i.e., the pension-related financial problems and the political
turmoil, scared off potential development partners who would have had to
share an estimated $800 million in upfront costs for the project. There is also
a heavy outlay of investment money before the partners can begin building
condominiums and other commercial development that are the profit centers
for the project. Besides the initial investment, Fabiani said that potential
development partners also have stated concerns about San Diegos housing
market and whether it could handle another 6,000 condominiums. In
addition, Fabiani blames City Attorney Michael Aguirre, saying that
potential development partners were put off by his opposition to a key
element in the plan. The Chargers said the vote on the stadium and
commercial development would be binding, but Aguirre said it would likely
be advisory. Another barrier: The Chargers wanted 60 acres for free, but

Aguirre said it cannot be given away because it belongs to the citys water
department. In fact, it is now clear that Aguirre will do or say whatever it
takes to stand in the way of a redevelopment plan, Fabiani said. And if the
Chargers are eventually forced to leave San Diego, there can now be no
doubt that Mike Aguirre will be to blame.
May 1, 2006 San Diego City Council amends the Chargers lease, allowing
the team to explore options for a new stadium within the county of San
Diego. The action came less than two weeks after Mayor Jerry Sanders said
the cash-strapped City didnt have money to help Southern Californias only
NFL team build a new stadium. If the Chargers fail to strike a deal in the
county of San Diego before January 1, 2007, they are free to negotiate a deal
anywhere in the country.
May 2006 -- The Chargers begin to explore a 52-acre waterfront site in
National City.
2006 U.S. real estate market collapses, taking a severe toll nationwide
while hitting California especially hard. The number of foreclosures in San
Diego begin to climb severely. In addition, San Diego home prices drop
precipitously. Overall, San Diegos real estate market was impacted more
dramatically than the entire country as a whole, yet prices did not fall as
drastically as they did on average in California.
May 2007 National City drops the idea of a Chargers stadium project after
a series of meetings with officials from the City and County of San Diego
that were met with a lukewarm reception. National City officials sought
money for consultants and infrastructure but were turned down. Meanwhile,
the Chargers analyzed the National City site and determined that with
additions such as five parking garages, new freeway on- and off-ramps and
possible trolley track realignment, it would be a very expensive place to
build a stadium another $400 million to the $650- to $750-million project.
2007The Chargers begin to explore two potential stadium sites in Chula
Vista, identified by a $220,000 study the team had funded. One is a 139-acre
bay front site dominated by a power plant; the other is a 500-acre inland site
near the U.S. Olympic Training Center.
2007 The Chargers begin to explore a potential stadium site in Oceanside
at the Center City Golf Course (Goat Hill). After analyzing the 72-acre

site, the Chargers decided it was too small for a stadium and a development
project that would help fund it.
2008 San Diego unemployment levels jump significantly during the
recession, as they did in the state and the nation. Overall, San Diegos
unemployment rate was lower than the nations rate pre-crisis, although it
ended up experiencing a higher unemployment rate than the nation average
since.
July 2008 San Diego real estate foreclosures hit their maximum monthly
level of 2,285.
November 13, 2008 The Chargers and their new stadium issues are stuck
between a rock and hard times, according to a story in MediaVentures. The
possibility of a Chula Vista bayfront site is on hold -- Chula Vista is the
foreclosure capital of San Diego County. Mark Fabiani says in the
MediaVentures story that the current worldwide economic crisis, plus the
local financial and housing issues, makes constructing a stadium anywhere
more difficult. Right now, you couldnt finance it, Fabiani says. It would
be impossible. The debt markets are so seized up, it would be impractical; it
would not be financially feasible.
December 8, 2008 Mayor Jerry Sanders sworn in for his second term. Jan
Goldsmith sworn in as City Attorney, replacing Michael Aguirre. Said
Goldsmith, No longer will contracts be held up for months or years, sitting
on the city attorneys desk.
January 2009 Year-over-year monthly increases of San Diego real estate
foreclosures finally slows and reverses.
March 2009 San Diego home prices reach their lowest point.
May 2009 The Chargers begin to explore a potential 60-acre stadium site
in Escondido.
June 2009 The Chula Vista City Council votes not to pursue a Chargers
stadium project, leaving the Chargers no choice but to walk away.
June 2009 The Chargers begin to explore a potential 90-acre site in
Oceanside, near the municipal airport.

September 28, 2009 The Chargers begin to explore a potential 10- to 12acre stadium site in downtown San Diegos East Village district. Fabiani said
that it is a very tight site and that the acquisition of the necessary land
downtown is enormous.
October 2009 Oceanside drops the Chargers stadium project, and the
Chargers admit that the proximity to the municipal airport is a problem that
could not be overcome. In addition, the Chargers said the economy needed
to rebound in order to support ancillary development of retail shops, hotels,
residences and office space to support a stadium.
November 2009 Escondido chooses not to pursue a Chargers stadium after
learning the team was exploring a potential stadium site in downtown San
Diego in the East Village neighborhood.
Late October/Early November 2009 Dean Spanos meets with Mayor Jerry
Sanders to discuss a new stadium.
November 17, 2009 The City of San Diegos downtown redevelopment
agency, Centre City Development Corp., is poised to hire sports finance
consultant Mitchell Ziets and Evolution Media Capital LLC of New York for
$160,000 to study how to pay for a downtown football stadium. This comes
three weeks after a rare meeting between Mayor Jerry Sanders and Chargers
President Dean Spanos to discuss the teams desire for a new stadium.
Fabiani called the hiring significant because of how quickly it happened and
because of what the consultant has to do.
May 20, 2010 The Chargers release drawings of their planned stadium in
downtown San Diegos East Village. The cost of the stadium is estimated at
$800-million, not including the cost of moving a bus terminal now on the
site.
July 2010 Sports finance consultant Mitchell Ziets finishes his contract
with the downtown redevelopment agency. The agency postpones his report
until after the City decides to increase a key limit to downtown
redevelopment revenues, dollars that are expected to help pay for the
stadium.
July 2010 San Diego s unemployment rate peaks at 10.9 percent.

July 2010 After a modest recovery in San Diego home prices, another slip
in prices is observed, albeit far more modest than that which occurred in the
midst of the crisis.
November 2011 Reports surface that Chargers owner Alex Spanos is
trying to sell a minority stake in the team. Mark Fabiani dismisses
speculation that the team could move to Los Angeles, saying the team is still
studying a stadium option downtown. Fabiani says the Spanos family trust
retained Goldman Sachs in August 2011 to pursue potential buyers
nationwide for estate planning. Fabiani says Goldman Sachs is listening to
offers from across the globe, and he wouldnt rule out a partner from the
LA area.
January 2011 San Diegos unemployment rate begins an encouraging
downward trend: Every month since January 2011 has seen an
unemployment rate lower than that of the same month in the preceding year.
June 28, 2011 Gov. Jerry Brown signs into law two bills that amended
Californias community redevelopment law, in effect preventing
redevelopment agencies from engaging in new activities and outlined a
process for winding down their financial affairs. The laws were appealed to
the California Supreme Court and were upheld on December 29, 2011
causing the agencies to cease to exist after February 2, 2012.
July 30, 2011 The Chargers continue to explore a potential stadium site in
downtown San Diegos East Village, envisioning it as part of a new
downtown Sports and Entertainment district. Fabiani, who has consistently
stated that this site is the last, best option, said the Chargers are firmly
convinced that the site is viable, with the strong support of government
leaders, the business community and organized labor.
October 12, 2011 Mayor Jerry Sanders hires a George Bilicic, an
investment advisory banker with New York-based Lazard Ltd., to help City
and County officials draft a plan to pay for an $800-million Chargers
stadium in East Village. Sanders said his goal was for Bilicic to draw up a
proposal for Chargers approval next year. Bilicic was given a contract of less
than $250,000, most of it to be paid contingent on a deal being worked out
with the Chargers. We cant keep just saying we really want to keep you,
Sanders said of the Chargers. We really have to present something. Theyve

got some big decisions coming up, and we need to say, Hey, heres another
piece of the decision. However, according to a story in the San Diego City
Beat, Bilicics final report never saw the light of day because the Chargers
objected to x hundreds of millions of tax payer dollars the report
suggested would be needed to make the plan work.
February 2012 San Diego finally shows the first year-over-year increase in
median home price seen in over a year.
2012 Over the years, the idea of a new Chargers stadium in downtown San
Diego, at the Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal site, was floated. Talk started in
2004 and continued through 2009. It was brought up again in January 2012,
by the UT San Diego. However, it never gained much, if any, traction
because every time the site was brought up, it was struck down.
December 3, 2012 Bob Filner is sworn in as Mayor of San Diego.
August 30, 2013 Bob Filner resigns as Mayor of San Diego amid a sexual
harassment scandal. Todd Gloria is named interim Mayor of San Diego.
September 5, 2013 The Chargers present a joint-use stadium/conventional
center plan for East Village to the California Coastal Commission. The
Chargers also announce that a major international investment firm -- Colony
Capital LLC is partnering with the team to pursue this alternative vision
for downtown, as well as for the Qualcomm and Sports Arena sites.
October 6, 2013 Fabiani admits to UT columnist Nick Canepa that the
Chargers, along with their development investment partner Colony Capital,
LLC, are reconsidering the Mission Valley site. In fact, he says, the Mission
Valley site has never been taken off the drawing board. Fabiani states that
the site is perfect for private development, for building an urban village.
March 3, 2014 Kevin Faulconer is sworn in as Mayor of San Diego.
April 19, 2014 Fabiani states to UT reporter Mark Walker that the
Chargers are open to a stadium plan where they, a development partner
(Colony Capital LLC), and the NFL would contribute $600 million to a
project, and that they are not locked into any site. The proposal could
include a Joint Powers Authority to oversee the stadium, which the team
wants to own and have operational control over to help recoup its costs.

While the Chargers had once abandoned the Mission Valley Qualcomm
property as a redevelopment site, it is willing to consider that location.
May 1, 2014 Fabiani says the Chargers are hoping to complete a proposal
by years end that would use public land at the Sports Arena, Qualcomm
Stadium and downtown to generate revenue for a long-sought new venue
without taxpayer dollars. Under the plan, the team would spend millions of
dollars campaigning for a November 2016 ballot measure that would pass
with a simple majority.
August 1, 2014 An Appellate Court rules against a proposed tax increase
of 1 to 3 percent to be applied by San Diegos hotels on occupants. This
increased tax would have been used to fund a $520-million expansion of the
San Diego Convention Center. In their unanimous ruling, the judges said:
While we understand the city would like to expand the convention center,
we are duty bound to uphold the provisions of the California Constitution
and the City Charter that require that the Citys registered voters approve the
special tax at issue in this case. In this particular case, the California
Constitution requires (per Prop 13) a two-thirds majority vote in order to
increase taxes. Since the vote never took place, the tax increase is
unconstitutional.
August 9, 2014 -- JMI Reality unveils a $1.42-billion plan that could
produce more space for conventions and a new stadium for the Chargers at
less cost than if built separately. JMI consultants estimate an expansion of
the San Diego Convention Center would cost $680 million, and the Chargers
stadium would cost $1.15 billion, not counting site acquisition and
environmental cleanup. JMIs joint use-facility a Chargers stadium with
the exhibit hall below the football field and meeting and ballroom space in
an attached building would cost $416 million less than two separate
facilities. JMI did not ask its consultants for a financing plan, leaving that
crucial detail for the City to work out. Eventually, the Chargers embrace the
JMI joint stadium and expanded convention center plan.
August 26, 2014 The Los Angeles Times obtains a memo that indicates the
Leagues intensified interest in filling the vacant Los Angeles market.
According to the memo, NFL Executive Vice President Eric Grubman was
reassigned to stadium development, the return of a team presences to the
Los Angeles area, the leagues strategic investment fund, and other key
strategic initiatives. This move represents the first time in more than a

decade that such a high-ranking NFL official has been assigned to the LA
NFL team conundrum.
December 13, 2014 Kevin Faulconer writes a letter to NFL Commissioner
Roger Goodell.
January 14, 2015 In his first State of the City Address, Mayor Kevin
Faulconer announces his intent to form an advisory group to give him
recommendations on a site and a financing plan to solve the San Diego
stadium issue. Faulconer promises he will have their recommendations by
the fall.
January 30, 2015 Mayor Kevin Faulconer introduces the nine-member San
Diego Citizens Stadium Advisory Group (CSAG) at Petco Park.
February 9, 2015 A memo obtained by NFL Medias Albert Breer, sent to
all 32 teams, outlines NFL Commissioner Roger Goodells formation of the
Committee on Los Angeles Opportunities. According to the memo, the
committee will evaluate the various stadium options available in Los
Angeles, oversee the application of the relocation guidelines in the event that
one or more clubs seek to move to Los Angeles, ensure proper coordination
with other standing commissioners (including Broadcasting, CED, Finance
and Stadium), and confirm that all steps taken in Los Angeles are consistent
with the Constitution and Bylaws and NFL policies. The committee is made
up of a group of six NFL owners: Clark Hunt, Robert Kraft, John Mara, Bob
McNair, Jerry Richardson and Art Rooney.
February 19, 2015 The Chargers and Oakland Raiders jointly announce
they are working on a plan to build a $1.7-billion stadium in the Los Angeles
suburb of Carson in case efforts to create new playing facilities in their home
markets do not materialize.
February 22, 2015 Mayor Kevin Faulconer and Chargers President and
Vice Chairman Dean Spanos meet and agree to move up the CSAG deadline
to May 20.
February 24, 2015 The San Diego City Council unanimously approves a
resolution that states the City is fully committed to keeping the Chargers
in San Diego. The resolution passes on an 8-0 vote.

February 26, 2015 Fabiani says in an online chat with the San Diego
Stadium Coalition that because the hoteliers appear unwilling to budge
downtown with regard to the convention center, the Chargers have a
renewed focus on Mission Valley Qualcomm site.
March 2, 2015 CSAG holds a three-hour public form at Qualcomm
Stadium attended by 2,000 people.
March 12, 2015 CSAG announces Mission Valley as the preferred site for
the new stadium, stating that it could be done quicker and more cheaply than
downtown.
March 25, 2015 The City of San Diego and San Diego County agree to
spend as much as $250,000 each to hire experts to help get a deal done on a
new stadium and ensure the interests of local taxpayers are protected.
April 7, 2015 CSAG meets with the NFLs LA-point person Eric Grubman
to discuss prospects for a stadium in San Diego.
April 20, 2015 The City of San Diego and San Diego County announce the
hiring of investment banker Citigroup and law firm Nixon Peabody to
negotiate a possible stadium deal with the Chargers.
May 18 CSAG announces San Diego stadium financing plan, which
identifies more than $1.4 billion in revenue opportunities for the building of
a new $1.1 billion stadium and needed infrastructure in Mission Valley.
CSAGs plan was delivered two days ahead of the Mayors promised
deadline. It is the first true financing plan issued on a prospective Chargers
stadium since the renovations in 1995.
----------------------------------------------------------------SOURCES: UT San Diego, chargers.com, Chargers Media Guides,
espn.com, LA Times, Chargers website created by the team specifically for
CSAG, boltsfromtheblue.com, and other websites and media reports, and
individual reporting
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