Have you signed the petition yet?

On April 21^st, the Chargers released renderings of their proposed stadium in the East Village of downtown San Diego and hosted a rally to kick off their signature gathering campaign the following Saturday morning.  The rally was attended by about 4000 fans, Chargers chairman Dean Spanos, current Charger Philip Rivers, retired Charger legend LaDainian Tomlinson, and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, among many others.

The Chargers have called San Diego home for 55 years. Can anyone truly imagine the team anywhere else? Or a different team in San Diego? After a long flirtation with Los Angeles by Dean Spanos, we could finally have an end to that absurd idea.

“I think the Chargers belong in San Diego,” said Goodell, “I think this is a great community, a great fan base. You see the passion of the fans.You see how important it is to them. It’s our job to go and find a solution for this community and for the team.”

The signature gathering campaign’s goal is to gather 100,000 signatures from voters over a six-week period to get the stadium initiative on the November ballot so the citizens of San Diego can vote. To pay for the bulk of the stadium construction costs, a 4% tax hike on hotel rooms has been proposed.

“I mean, dadgumit,” Philip Rivers said. “… It just makes sense right? I hope I’m still around to play in it. Let’s get it done together.”

A look at this picture, taken in 1997, and this picture, taken from just about the same location a couple years ago, you can see the difference 20 years and Petco Park have had on the East Village. Today, there are over 35,000 people living in the East Village. The area around the proposed stadium/convention center site is largely made up of run-down/dilapidated buildings in need of gentrification.

With a new football stadium in the East Village, San Diego will be able to apply for headlining sporting events such as Super Bowls, The World Cup, College Football Playoff games, Final Four basketball games, and many more. America’s Finest City hasn’t hosted a Super Bowl since 2003!

To find out where to sign the petition and more information on the initiative, go to www.signforsandiego.com.