May 29, 2009 - Developer Perry Dealy and San Diego Chargers, San Diego CA

San Diego Chargers Reject Stadium Proposal From Developer Perry Dealy

Developer Perry Dealy's proposal to replace Qualcomm Stadium calls for a 70,000-seat stadium and high-rises for businesses and residences.

Letter Sent To developer from Chargers - PDF

Local developer Perry Dealy unveiled his proposal to replace Qualcomm Stadium in Mission Valley yesterday, a day after the San Diego Chargers called his plans unrealistic in a fax sent directly to him.

The plan calls for a new 70,000-seat stadium with a 16-story hotel, 3.7 million square feet of commercial buildings ranging up to 33 stories, and 5,900 condominiums and apartments in structures that top out at 25 stories.

Media questions at a news conference dealt mostly with the dissension, and Dealy's materials for the media didn't shy away from the opposition. A handout plainly noted that the mayor and the Chargers were not on board with the project.

Dealy called on San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders to create a task force to study this proposal and others that would keep the Chargers in the county. It was an idea that didn't go over well in the Mayor's Office.

Sanders spokesman Darren Pudgil called such an effort premature and said, “I don't know why we would create a task force to look at a proposal the Chargers say is dead on arrival.”

Despite the opposition, Dealy and others on his team are promoting their idea at City Hall and planning meetings with community groups – for now.

“We'll stay if it looks like the mayor wants to keep it in the limelight, but we don't want to just go uphill with it,” Dealy said.

Team spokesman Mark Fabiani reiterated his skepticism about the proposal Wednesday in a letter to Dealy that said the Chargers do not support the proposal or believe it “has a realistic chance of being implemented” because of its “extraordinary density.”

Dealy said 16 business leaders have been contemplating redevelopment of the Qualcomm Stadium site since January and told Fabiani about their efforts as early as February.

“If the Chargers felt like they were closer to a deal somewhere else in the region, our entire group would join other San Diegans in helping them achieve their goals,” Dealy said. “We're not trying to compete or be independent. We just don't want to lose them.”

Dealy's group includes architect Gordon Carrier, real estate analyst Gary London and lawyers David Watson and Charles Black. Watson was chairman of the Citizens' Task Force on Chargers Issues in 2002 and 2003. Black is the former president of the San Diego Padres.

Dealy said the billion-dollar project could be funded as follows: $566 million through land sales, $302 million from borrowing against new tax revenues from the development, $200 million apiece from the Chargers and the National Football League and potentially another $100 million from San Diego State University.

It's estimated a new stadium would cost $700 million and infrastructure improvement another $300 million. Dealy said the whole project hinges on the area being designated a redevelopment zone.

The Chargers dismissed such a financing vehicle several years ago as legally and politically untenable, but Dealy said a contaminated plume of water under the stadium site clears the way for redevelopment designation.

Dealy said yesterday that without that designation – which would direct tax revenue to the project and away from other government jurisdictions – the concept crumbles.

“This is a big concept, a big vision, and it's a bit overwhelming to people because they're not used to seeing it,” Dealy said.

“What we're trying to lay out here is a vision, not a solution,” Carrier said. “What we're saying to you is, all these possibilities exist if we dream large enough for this site.”

Original Story - San Diego Union-Tribune

Developer scraps plans for Mission Valley stadium

Developer Perry Dealy told the Chargers and the Mayor's Office on Wednesday that he – and what was billed as a dream team of local land experts – are mothballing plans to replace Qualcomm Stadium in Mission Valley.

One of the plan's advocates, attorney Charles Black, said its quick dismissal should end all discussion about building a new facility for the Chargers on the 166-acre Qualcomm Stadium site.

“It appears as though there isn't going to be a new stadium in Qualcomm's future, at least not one where the Chargers play,” he said.

Team spokesman Mark Fabiani and the mayor's staff suggested Dealy's dense proposal was dead on arrival even before a public unveiling at a news conference last week. Turns out their obituary was only a wee bit premature.

“Just wanted to officially notify you that our 16 member volunteer task force . . . is immediately stopping any and all media outreach on our option,” Dealy wrote in an e-mail to the team and Mayor's Office. “What was a sincere and honest effort to independently develop a concept and framework that may have some life is not an option at this point in time.”

He added, “Under the auspices of no good deed goes unpunished, we somehow feel more negative has come out of this then was ever anticipated or intended.”

The plans to redevelop Qualcomm Stadium called for a new 70,000-seat stadium with a 16-story hotel, 3.7 million square feet of commercial space, 500,000 square feet of retail space and 5,900 condominiums and apartments.

Dealy did not return a call for comment.

Mayoral spokesman Darren Pudgil said the mayor intends to keep working with the Chargers on the team's search for a home.

“Given the circumstances, they made the right decision,” Pudgil said. “Any proposal will have to have the support of both the taxpayers and the Chargers, and this clearly didn't have the support of the Chargers, so it wouldn't have made any sense to move this forward.”

Fabiani replied via e-mail, “This announcement will make it easier for the Chargers to continue to focus on sites in San Diego County that may have a realistic chance of success.”

The Chargers had explored building a new stadium in Mission Valley several years ago – and dismissed it as unrealistic. The team, which has contemplated a new home for years, is looking at Chula Vista and considering other options.

Black, who co-chaired the effort with Dealy but did not attend last week's news conference, said the decision to pull the plug on the plan was simple.

“We were beginning to see even on the the day that that unveiling occurred that the proposal wasn't getting traction,” Black said. “My thought was if it's not going to get traction, we certainly don't want to create problems for others,” namely the Chargers and the Mayor's Office.

“Had we known fully what the Chargers' position was, maybe that press conference wouldn't have gone forward,” he said.

Black added some good could come of the Qualcomm site redevelopment review if the city decides at some point to revisit the issue without a new stadium.

“Was it a wise move to do the study?” Black said. “I think so. It gave us a lot of information on the site.”