Chula Vista Stadium Meeting 9/18

Hopefully, so good news will come out of that!!!

Let the Chargers be in town

"In the news .. its reported that city officials from the Chula Vista area are not really intrested there for Oceanside will be the designated spot for the San Diego Chargers .. when asked Dean Spanos indicated that being next door to the Marines ( stadium ) would be badd *** ( hoo-rah ) !!!

:flag: :flag: :flag: :flag:

===================================================the earth will quake as the heavens reign above the charger blue skies !!!

Chula Vista meeting report

Now real work to land Chargers begins

City planning further study of eastern, bayside locations
By Ronald W. Powell
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

September 19, 2007

Chula Vista officials will continue studying the pros and cons of a $1 billion Chargers stadium, but they'll do so with the voices of their constituents ringing in their ears.

Last night, before about 100 people at City Hall, the City Council voted 4-0 – Councilman Jerry Rindone was on vacation – to accept a $220,000 stadium study paid for by the Chargers and prepared by the design firm Cooper, Robertson & Partners. The New York-based firm evaluated four select sites on their size, transportation access, environmental issues, parking potential, commercial development prospects and availability. Two sites made the cut.

One is a vacant 500-acre parcel one mile east of state Route 125, about a half-mile south of the Windingwalk at Otay Ranch neighborhood. The other is a 139-acre bayside parcel where the South Bay Power Plant operates.

The Chargers also are considering Oceanside for a stadium. The team wants to select a site by the end of the year and place a stadium proposal on the November 2008 ballot for voters in the selected city.

Last night, 15 sometimes impassioned Chula Vista residents made sure the council heard their opinions on the two prospective sites, as well as the general idea of a stadium in their city. Most of the speakers supported the council continuing its fact-finding regarding a stadium.

The council's Chargers subcommittee, whose members are Mayor Cheryl Cox and Councilman John McCann, will work with the team to study how to pay for the stadium and how many jobs and how much tax revenue Chula Vista can expect from a stadium. The subcommittee will also hold public meetings to hear from taxpayers.

McCann said before the meeting that he expects the Chargers to pay for the study on stadium costs, while the study on jobs and revenue likely would be paid for by a business group or some other third party so the public can have confidence that the findings are impartial.

“I think we're in a strong position right now,” McCann said of the city's prospects for landing a stadium. “I think the city has shown strong leadership in trying to keep the Chargers in the San Diego region.”

The bayside site is accessible by freeway and mass transit. The eastern location has no mass transit and its only freeway access is the state Route 125 toll road, set to open in the next few months. Currently, some fans would have to rely on east-west surface streets to reach the location, which could create a traffic logjam.

Todd Glanz, an eastern Chula Vista resident, said he opposes the stadium because the traffic and noise it would generate.

“Let's put aside the cheerleader mentality and look at how it will impact us,” Glanz said.

Norbert Stein, a 94-year-old retired butcher, said traffic is a reality of modern life and should not stop the stadium.

“No traffic means no business,” he said. “No business, no jobs.”

In addition to Chula Vista, the Chargers are evaluating Oceanside's Center City Golf Course as a stadium site. The hilly golf course, which locals call Goat Hill, has an attractive location – east of Interstate 5 between Oceanside Boulevard and Mission Avenue. It would allow the team to boost its ticket sales and brand in Orange, Riverside, Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties.

Overview

Background: The Chargers are considering two sites in Chula Vista and one in Oceanside as locations for a stadium.

What's new: Chula Vista's City Council accepted a consultant's report last night that identifies two sites in the city as suitable for a Chargers stadium. They are a 500-acre vacant parcel on the city's east side and the 139-acre South Bay Power Plant site on the city's bayfront.

The future: A Chula Vista City Council Chargers committee will work with the team to produce two studies: one to show how the stadium would be paid for and the other to estimate the number of jobs and how much revenue a stadium project would bring the city. Officials say no city money will be used for the studies.
Concerns were raised about traffic, noise and the council's focus on a stadium instead of providing improved streets, sidewalks and affordable housing. Stadium supporters said the project could bring an economic boost to the city to help address its shortcomings.


Ronald W. Powell: (619) 718-5070; ron.powell@uniontrib.com