There is a lot of hype right now about the possibility of a new Charger’s stadium in downtown San Diego’s East Village. With the Chargers heading to their first playoff game of the season, it seems like there are a lot of supporters at this time. Who knows, if the Chargers take it all the way to the Super Bowl, maybe the city will make the Stadium become a reality.

Although Mayor Jerry Sanders is not opposed to the new stadium, there have been studies done that show that the San Diego Chargers do not create enough revenue to support the cost of the proposed stadium. I challenge the validity of the report and question how many aspects of future development they have taken into consideration in the analysis.

If you look at the Padres’ Petco Park, it was a huge catalyst to downtown San Diego’s growth and development. New hotels, new high-rise condo projects, new restaurants, new offices and retail stores all came in connection with the construction of Petco Park. Look at the increased tax revenue these businesses have contributed to the city on an annual basis. The same growth and redevelopment would take place with the construction of the Charger’s new stadium.

Downtown San Diego is the perfect location for the new stadium! We already have the infrastructure including the trolley, the Coaster, and Amtrack which would help bring the many Orange County and LA county Charger’s fans. There are an abundance of hotels and restaurants that can handle the large crowds. The new Charger’s Stadium would be able to share the existing Padres’ Parking structures. There is a major airport within 10 minutes of the proposed stadium sight and there is easy access to interstates 5, 163, and 94.

It was even announced today that San Diego is a proposed host for the 2018 or 2022 World Cup of Soccer, which is the planets largest sporting event. The biggest issue for San Diego is not hotels or restaurants or tourist infrastructure or weather or training facilities or a large soccer following or lack of experience hosting large sports events. It has all that and more. The problem is the venue. Qualcomm Stadium would be 55 years old in 2022 and Los Angeles, who is another contender is slated to have a new stadium buy then.

The World Cup, the Super Bowl, and many other events will find San Diego as an attractive venue if we build a world-class stadium. Our weather and our great downtown area are rivaled only by that of Miami, and San Diego has much more favorable weather in the summer months.