Liars & Leaks
Another day, another angle, another explanation, another excuse.
The saga of the Chargers football stadium goes on-and-on.
Depending on what you believe,the Chargers desperately want to stay in San Diego. The Chargers want to win the race to LA. The Chargers are committed to the fans here. The Chargers are committed to convincing the NFL the Carson sight is the most beneficial to the league. It’s all about the bank, not about the Lightning Bolt.
If you think back, you can her the comments echoing off walls, at Chargers Park, and at City Hall over the last few months..
Owner Dean Spanos has gone underground, lacking the courage to take a public stance, and speak for himself on all the issues he is facing. His point man spokesman Mark Fabiani speaks only to the few that are willing to take his leaks, mostly in the Los Angeles market.
You do remember the initial conversations Fabiani had, about not wanting some half-ass deal put together by the Mayor’s Task Force, in essence, don’t waste our time.
Here came the Task Force, here came the research from volunteers, here came the proposal without any additional tax money, and a plan to be negotiated. And here comes an expedited vote by the citizens to move the project down the field.
It took two months of insults from Fabiani, directed at the Mayor, then the committee members, before he could ever say thank you to the people who gave up three months of their lives to save the team, an industry, an employer if you will. .
Fabiani, once the CSAG group got started, pushed for a fast-track finish to their work, so the team could get plenty of time to review, rework, and approve or disapprove.
So what was planned to be an extended evaluation of NFL stadium financing, became a 60-day sprint to gather info, and create a taxpayer friendly proposal to save the team for its city.
And now after all that work, Fabiani is leaking hints what the Mayor proposes will be shot down, because there’s no 18-month environmental impact studies, or no proper referendum, which includes gathering signatures. Now he says the high speed express lane proposal cannot be approved. The Emails he has sent out to confidantes, smell like something akin to sabotage, chopping apart all the work done by the committee.
You remember the words out of his mouth ‘agnostic’ about a possible downtown sight-vs-Mission Valley don’t you? Now he’s dropping hints at this late hour, he’d be open to re-exploring the downtown location, if they have another year to work on ideas. Of course they don’t have that time, because he wanted a quick fix set of ideas.
Just wondering if you are amongst the 75% of Chargers fans they are willing to leave behind? And of course there is the cursory 25% figure of tickets sold to LA-Orange County and the Inland empire, or so say the Fab-man. Others say much of those tickets come from brokers, who sell tickets to Broncos, Steelers, Raiders, Packers fans, who pour into the Q to see their favorite team, not the Bolts.
A former ticket seller from within tells me that 75% of the bulk of the 25% number come from the Inland Empire and southern Orange County fans.
On the left hand, the Chargers mouthpiece says San Diego would never buy PSLs for home games. But his franchise is all excited that the LA fans will pay $7,500 to $10,000 per seat for ticket licenses at the new Toxic Waste Stadium in Carson. If Bolt fans wouldn’t buy PSL’s here, what makes you think the 75% San Diego fans, would pay exorbitant fees to go to LA to see the team?.
Of course around the NFL, where you’ve had cities and owners square off, there have always been struggles. The 49ers-Santa Clara palace was a special event, ownership money, is a special place, the rich Silicon Valley. Pittsburgh built Heinz Field thanks to the Rooney Family and the region. Cincinnati found a way to get it done even with archaic business principals of Mike Brown. Brilliant leadership from Robert Kraft and Jerry Jones, their wealth and smarts, finished projects in in New England and Dallas.
Anybody seen any cooperation from Team Spanos towards this Mayor? No, too busy, pouring resources and assets and manpower into the toxic waste site that is Carson. It sure seems like destnation LA is the goal.
The Chargers point man won’t talk to many San Diego reporters now, especially the ones who dare ask the probing questions. Only giving time to lap-dog lead columnists, or to an LA-media horde, hungry for any crumb that stirs pro-Los Angeles interest at the cost of the Chargers hometown.
The bottom line this morning seems to be delay-deny-and hope to buy more time to win the race into Los Angeles. What comes out of the mouth, and thru the Emails to associates from Fabiani, is what the owner believes, thinks and wishes.
You’d wish the man who owned the team actually had the courage, or the credibility, or the intelligence to step forward and tell San Diego his true feelings. Not lies, not leaks, not agenda-filled theories from his right hand man.
I wonder how Dean Spanos can look into a mirror and believe he is doing right by a city that has supported his family and franchise for 50-years? I know why Mark Fabiani doesn’t look in the mirror. It has something to do with soul and credibility and lack of civility..
The town did everything that was asked by the other side. And every effort has been seemingly undermined-land mined by people at Chargers Park, from the first mayor press conference about his Task Force, to where we are this morning with all the explanations why it won’t work. I am amazed the fans and corporate sponsors have not revolted yet.
So here we are, Chargers football, resembling World War I-trench warfare, ownership of the team on one side of the barbed wire fence, leadership of the city on the other side. Shells, hand grenades, armaments of all kind. A terrible no-man’s land in between, and seemingly no way to get a peace treaty done. The only thing missing is poison gas, and that may arrive soon if they announce the franchise might be leaving
And you can say thanks for Dean Spanos and Mark Fabiani if that ever happens.
