Arthur Salm: Lose the Chargers? No loss at all
As much as the Spanoses might like to pay for a stadium, they just can't do it.
Arthur Salm is SDNN's city columnist.
Now the Qualcomm site is being considered again. This whole Chargers/stadium thing feels like the movie “Groundhog Day.”
The Chargers’ line is that they’d really, really like to stay in the San Diego area, but doggone it, they need a new stadium because Qualcomm is, like … not new, and they could make a lot more money if they were working out of spiffier digs. That is, a facility with space for more luxury boxes, for which corporations pay whatever millions they have left over after their CEO’s and other officers are through looting them for the year.
(Then those same CEO’s and other officers can attend football games without having to dip into any of the loot they looted to buy tickets. Everybody, except the Chargers in playoff games, wins.)
And, even more doggone it, as much as the Spanos family, the Chargers’ owners, might like to pay for the whole thing, they just can’t make themselves do it. And for good reason: It would be stupid. It would be stupid because they’ve learned, both from experience (the ticket guarantee, their current lease on Qualcomm) and from observing their cousins (the Padres/Petco Park), that the city of San Diego is easily snookered.
The outlook is ominous: If the Chargers don’t get a new stadium, we could lose them. Maybe they’d return to their roots and once again be the Los Angeles Chargers; maybe San Antonio or Portland, Fargo or Mumbai will offer them a package crammed with so many trinkets and colored beads that the team will have to swallow hard and take it, or answer to the shareholders. Except there aren’t any shareholders, unless you count how the Spanos family divvies up the pie among themselves.
Then what would become of us? After all, a city without an NFL team is, by definition … a city without an NFL team. And do you know what people who live in big, NFL-deficient cities like Los Angeles and Portland and San Antonio, not to mention every other American burg without an NFL team, have to do in order to see pro football? They have to watch it on TV - just like about 97.5 percent of the people in San Diego County do, and would have to do even should a new stadium be built, because, after all, the things only seat about 60,000.
Mark Fabiani chats about stadium search
But here’s the dirty big secret about the Chargers: Their economic impact on the area is negligible. They employ relatively few people - they’re at most a medium-small company, by almost any measure. A lot of the jobs they do provide are seasonal, and a lot are low-wage. A few dozen Charger employees make a great deal of money, but many of them don’t even live here in the off-season.
And as for bringing dollars into the area, well, not really. Most people who go to the games are local. They love it, they have a whale of a time, but the cash for their tickets and nachos and beer goes mostly into quarterback, cornerback, running back, and Spanos pockets. Nothing wrong with that - business is business - but it’s not like the money’s going toward filling potholes, building fire stations or, god forbid, paying teachers.
Another argument for you and me and Aunt Betty’s pitching in to help build a new stadium for the Spanos family is that every now and then the Super Bowl comes to town, and if we don’t have something bright and shiny and new, it might never show up again. The NFL blows a lot of smoke about the hundreds of millions of dollars the Super Bowl brings into an area, but reputable academic studies have refuted this, some estimating that the true economic impact is around 10 percent of what the NFL claims. That debate isn’t settled, but bear in mind that 1) there are going to be a lot of people in San Diego hotel rooms and restaurants every January weekend of every year; the fact that every seventh or tenth or whatever-th year, those people may be here to see the Super Bowl, doesn’t change things much, even if they do spend (read: drink) more; and 2) the NFL is not an unbiased party.
The Chargers and the Spanos family are small potatoes. If, stadium-less, they depart for a greener gridiron, as they’ve been threatening to do since Alonzo Horton and Wyatt Earp brought the team to San Diego in 1887, the local economy will never miss them.
Anyway, we’ll still be able to watch them on TV. Games played at home in Mumbai will come on in the middle of the night, but what you saved on tickets, you can invest in TiVo. So crack a frosty, balance that bowl of chips on your lap, yank the lever on the BarcaLounger, ease back and cheer the team to victory. Go, Slumdogs!
Arthur Salm is SDNN’s city columnist. Email him at arthur.salm (at) sdnn.com.
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Comment by: Daniel Posted: May 25, 2009, 11:07 am
I am so sick of the Spanos clan threatening to move every year. Just leave already!
Comment by: Jonny Silva Posted: May 26, 2009, 7:44 am
Try out google and look up economic impact of Super Bowl. Just because you do not like football, do your research before you speak(or write). Even if those numbers are inflated, fans travel to super bowl cities and fill hotels, eat at restaurants and want the whole super bowl experience. I work at a hotel(also a low wage job), and every home Charger game we fill our hotel with fans from outside of San Diego. Most are from L.A. and have season tickets, but we would not get any of that without a team.
Comment by: Matty G Posted: May 26, 2009, 10:22 am
Arthur, first of all like Jonny was saying, Super Bowl’s bring enormous impact to the local businesses and it fills hotel rooms, upraise the sales in local restaurants, and even though there are only 10-12 games a year for football, there are many other things that could take place at that new stadium like SDSU football, Bowl games, Monster trucks, motorcross events, and huge concerts of big name acts. And finally, ticket prices are not determined by what the RB, QB and WR are making, their salaries are already paid from the league revenue that is shared by all teams, so do your homework before you spew off nonsense.
If you want to know more, go to our website, you might find it useful
Comment by: Gary Posted: May 26, 2009, 10:38 am
Lose Arthur Salm? No Loss At All!
Enough dogging the value of an NFL franchise, it not only unites a community (see Qualcomm Stadium after the Chargers returned to SD after beating Pittsburgh in the 94-95 postseason or view all of the Charger Blue on our streets over the past few years) but provides real economic benefit to the region (see Superbowl, Supercross, Soccer matches, possibility of World Cup games down the road, etc).
So Glendale can build a world class facility and San Diego can not? What? How about Pittsburgh, New England, Seattle and now San Francisco. Enough.
Wake up people, wake up Arthur! We live by the rules of Capitalism which dictates that business makes as much money as they possibly can. The Chargers have proven a commitment to stay and work with us while we “cry” about them wanting to run a profitable business just like every other business in the country.
How about getting serious and getting to the table to find a solution or we can watch Los Angeles or San Antonio or some other city celebrate a Superbowl victory while we count up the lost revenue and civic pride.
Comment by: Jason Riggs Posted: May 26, 2009, 10:46 am
This is an interesting opinion piece, however, it is sadly deficient in any factual basis. The fact is that an NFL franchise creates between 1,300 - 6,000 annual full and part-time jobs.
The state also would generate millions in new tax revenues, not to mentione addtional TOT revenue which is critical to our tax base if a new stadium and ancillary development were to be undertaken in San Diego County.
It’s sad that Mr. Salm is as short-sighted as some of our local polticians and can’t see what a huge economic boom the constructon of a new stadium would create for our local economy. It’s easy to shoo it away and mock the whole process, but it’s incredibly irresponsible to do so without any research or facts to back it up.
I invite anybody who is truly interested in this matter dto do their own research. You can visit our site to get started at http://www.sdstadium.org
Here are some other links that might be helpful.
http://www.ci.arlington.tx.us/pdf/ERA%20Study%20Final.pdf
http://www.phil.frb.org/research-and-data/publications/business-review/2004/q2/brq204jc.pdf
http://www.ftballiance.org
Again, the Chargers are bringing a huge economic asset to the City not to mention improving the quality of life, tax base, home values and civic pride for County residents without asking for a SINGLE dime in taxpayer money.
If they leave, it will be because of the short-sightedness of people like Mr. Salm
Comment by: boltastic Posted: May 26, 2009, 11:13 am
This article is the epitome of useless mockery that is spewed from critical, sarcastic city beat writers that could give a damn about professional sports or the community ties that they bring with them. This piece is filled with nonsense, be it about the City being able to be “snookered” (that’s quality journalism right there, btw) all the way to the statements about the Chargers being able to not win in the playoffs (what Socratic hole have you been in the last few years) and that this team and/or stadium don’t do much for the local economy.
It’s easy to have a diarrhea of the mouth and spit so much contempt for something that you obviously know nothing about or care much about. But don’t be mistaken, there are a lot citizens out there that can see the bigger picture and will do whatever it takes to keep the Chargers here and make sure that the City doesn’t spin further out of control. You should spend some time actually looking for a resolution about “your” city’s conundrum(s) rather than wasting your time publishing your useless opinion. That might be worth reading and then you might actually be called a journalist.
Comment by: Jeff Posted: May 26, 2009, 11:55 am
I’m amazed to see people talk about, “We live by the rules of Capitalism which dictates that business makes as much money as they possibly can.” yet support a public subsidy of a private business. If the Chargers have such a great economic benefit for the region, how about the city sells the land that was to be given away and use it for a down payment on purchasing the team? The average price for an NFL team is said to be $957 Million.
http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/09/14/nfl-teams-average-value-957-million/
This has to be a cheaper option than being subject to extortion every two years.
Comment by: Jason Riggs Posted: May 26, 2009, 1:02 pm
Jeff - you’ve got it all wrong with that black and white analysis. The region benefits directly and indirectly by having an NFL team in San Diego County. To say that a parcel of land isn’t worth swapping for millions of tax dollars, jobs, tourism dollars, etc. isn’t seeing the big picture.
Why is San Diego’s sense of civic pride so sloppy and weak sometimes? Is it because the area is so transplant heavy?
As a lifelong resident, I don’t see everything as a single business transaction but rather a partnership and a tradeoff between both sides. That’s the way people like Jack Murphy saw it back in the 1960s and thankfully, we have professional sports in our region thanks his efforts.
The Chargers are not asking for ANY TAXPAYER money. To say that any land in San Diego County better serves the taxpayers as something other than a stadium is to deny the desire of a sizeable number of taxpayers.
And, to say that there is no precedence for land in San Diego County being given away to other private enterprises for the greater public good is simply not true. How about the Point Loma land given to “Crooky” McMillan in 2000 to build Liberty Station in exchange for $0 in retrun revenue share for the City? But somehow, that slipped completely under the radar because of all of the backroom skid greasing by the powerful development community. Why wasn’t there outrage about that horrible deal?
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20070303/news_lz1n3mcmillin.html
The Chargers have been totally above board. They are offering something much more legitimate.
All the Chargers are asking for is a free or inexpensive land to own or lease and provide place to build a world class stadium to host events for everybody in the region to enjoy. All at a price tag of $0 for the taxpayers and a significant boost to the local tax base.
Why can’t people understand this concept?
Comment by: Sara Johnson Posted: May 26, 2009, 1:47 pm
It’s sad that the very “journalists” who are supposed to be informing the public insist on spreading false information.
#1 - The Spanos family doesn’t want to leave San Diego. They wouldn’t have spent $10 million and 7+ years trying to work-out a new stadium site/solution here in San Diego county if they did. They are not threatening anyone, but making a major effort to remain competitive as a franchise while staying put.
#2 - The impact of an NFL franchise is not just monetary. Beyond the money they and their facilities bring in is a social impact which cannot be measured. Charity work, Community unification, Entertainment… just a few of the intangibles.
#3 - THE NEW STADIUM WILL NOT COST TAXPAYERS A DIME. This is not not not (i repeat) not another Petco.
If you had taken the time to do any research at all Mr. Salm you would know all of this and wouldn’t have written such a silly inaccurate article.
Comment by: Jeff Posted: May 26, 2009, 2:33 pm
Jason - I too am a lifelong resident. I agree with you that land owned by the tax payers should not be given away. That is why I oppose this. Nothing disgusted me more than the ticket guarantee a few years ago. What other business could get a subsidy like that from the government? The truth is, there is a certain segment of the population that really loves having a professional football team. The Spanos family counts on this segment to help them extract concessions from the city. What about the other segments of the population that really don’t care about having a team? What about the people who would rather spend tax dollars on police and fire protection and public libraries? Why should they be forced to pay for something that only benefits one segment of the population?
I hear the argument about the economic stimulus, etc. but I think there are better ways to spend money to stimulate the economy if that is your goal. How about we provide more educational opportunities or invest in our infrastructure. I don’t buy the argument that giving away land for free does not cost $. There is an opportunity cost involved with that that could help make up the shortfall in revenues.
Comment by: Jason Riggs Posted: May 26, 2009, 3:54 pm
Jeff - Fair enough. We can all agree that no matter what you do with the land, you aren’t going to make every taxpayer happy. So, why not at least serve what I beleive to be a large segment of them (not just Charger fans, but concertgoers, Supercross fans, Aztecs Fans, Collge Bowl game fans, etc.) with a world-class stadium for civic events while maximizing the return through critical tax bases such as property and TOT and adding jobs and tourist dollars to the economy. No library, fire station or public park can do any of that.
In the same way that we build convention centers to bring in business, we should build stadiums to bring in revenue for the region and provide a venue for people who enjoy the local events.
I rarely go to many public places such as Balboa Park or Public Libraries but yet my tax dollars support those places. I would never complain about that. But just becuase you don’t like events going on at the stadium, doesn’t mean that it’s not a good use of public land for a huge segment of the population that does. Right?
Comment by: Charles Oakey Posted: May 26, 2009, 4:22 pm
The Los Angeles Chargers!
I like the sound of that!
Comment by: Michael Posted: May 27, 2009, 12:53 am
To Arthur Salm and commentator Daniel…people like you are so shallow. The Spanos family is not “threatening to leave every year”, Daniel. And your precious tax dollars, Mr. Salm, go to the infrastructure of the latitude and longitude called San Diego. Your paying for the privilege of living in one of the 10 most beautiful cities in America, and in America, 32 of our cities have NFL teams. That, too, is a privilege. Believe me, I could think of 500,000 people that would rather see you two leave instead of the Chargers.
Comment by: Jimmy Posted: May 27, 2009, 9:47 am
Hey, folks. Salm is a columnist. He’s SUPPOSED to have and express opinions. Not to be confused with a journalist, who is supposed to report without expressing bias. So quit complaining about his “journalism.” It’s so basie. Ugh. We should make courses like Society & Journalism required in high school.
Comment by: Tom Posted: May 27, 2009, 10:03 am
Where does Mr. Salm get off telling me what is best for me? Yes, I can watch them on TV, but I’d rather watch them in person. If we ignore him…hopefully, he will go away.
Comment by: Chargers Fan Posted: May 27, 2009, 12:53 pm
Keep em.
Comment by: Nicole Larson Posted: May 27, 2009, 2:25 pm
Go, Chargers, go — away. Arthur Salm has it right. We don’t need a blood-sucking team to drain ever more resources from our already strained city finances. They contribute almost nothing to our city — aside from a lot of brainwashing with inflated NFL and football booster statistics.
Comment by: Dance Fan Posted: May 27, 2009, 3:20 pm
Personally, I prefer dance performances and figure skating to football games. Would you football fans like to pay taxes to build primo facilities for my entertainment preferences? Maybe San Diego could then develop world-renowned dance companies and attract masses of visitors to our skating exhibitions. I’d be very proud of my city. Not you? Well, no one is trying to keep you from attending football games if that’s what rocks your boat — I just don’t want to pay for it.
Comment by: Rick Ursery Posted: May 27, 2009, 9:22 pm
Arthur,
What you’re missing, the reason the stadium keeps being talked about in terms of staying in San Diego, is that the Chargers franchise is “special” in a way that involves something deeper than mere economic benefit for the city (an unfortunate economic interpretation that ignores any possibility of believing in something deeper than the city’s potholes). The Chargers are as much a part of San Diego as is the U.S. Navy or Sea World or the carne asada burrito. It’s true that if the Chargers left San Diego, San Diego would continue to exist and economically they wouldn’t feel much pain (at least not any more than that imposed by the City Council). Spanos and the city do speak in economic terms, since football is a business and ultimately all owners seek to make money. But the undercurrent is that an NFL franchise brings a city closer together in rooting for their team to win a Superbowl. For example, Pittsburgh is a hell-hole torn apart by striking unions and atrocious weather year-round. But the Steelers unite that city and fulfill a fanatical desire to root for a football team, even to the point where its fans proudly support the team no matter where they live. Maybe that’s all they have. Granted, rooting for a team is beyond the scope of funding a new stadium (which the Chargers organization is not seeking taxpayer funds for - so maybe they can be used for filling potholes or pouring even more money into the education sinkhole). I also understand that Pittsburgh isn’t San Diego - the difference being that San Diegans have something more to hang onto than braving disgusting weather and rooting their team to victory. That may explain your apparent lack of interest in football. The point is that a football team serves a larger purpose for a city than eating chips while reclined in your chair. If it were simply a love of football, and the need for a past time, then one could watch any NFL team on their TV (including, God forbid, the Raiders) and get what they’re looking for. The Chargers are the glue of San Diego. Without them we’re all just beach bums lounging in our chairs eating chips. With them, we have a bond beyond just griping about the City Council. The Chargers, by their very existence, have a magic that I suppose can only be felt by believers. When L.T. was a kid, his family was dirt poor. He saw that Emmitt Smith was hosting a summer camp for kids who wanted to learn how to be a running back. His mom said that they didn’t have the money. But she secretly put away a little bit of money at a time and later surprised him by telling him he could go. Now, can you imagine how things would be different now if L.T. didn’t go to that camp? Then we couldn’t boast having a first-ballot Hall of Famer and one of the best running backs to ever play the game of football. We wouldn’t have watched him score 31 touchdowns in a single season, or lead the NFL in rushing two years in a row. Quite possibly we wouldn’t have made the playoffs the last 3 years with an AFL Championship appearance. I’m not sure you realize how many hearts ache to see L.T. holding up the Lombardi trophy. I know you’re thinking “So what. San Diego could existence just fine without the Chargers.” That’s fair - but for the sake of the city and its people I wanted to present the other side of the issue. For some, it’s all about the money. For most, it’s about the magic. Which you can plainly see in NFL fans and players all over the country.
Sincerely,
Rick
Comment by: Jason Riggs Posted: May 28, 2009, 9:18 am
Dance Fan - My tax dollars already support several such programs and I don’t care to attend them but am happy to help out. For some reason, that sentiment doesn’t go the other way.
Comment by: Ken Posted: May 28, 2009, 12:38 pm
Why are Liberals always so bitter and mean?? I guess they are jealous of people that make thier own money and don’t share it with them. I wish grumpy people like Arthur would just move away and let those of us that are happy about having sports teams live in peace, happiness and bliss.
Maybe his GOD Obama will build him his dream home somwhere where there are no sports teams and pay all his bills on someone elses dime.
Comment by: San Diego Dave Posted: May 29, 2009, 10:20 am
Right now our city, state and country are experiencing the worst economy since the Depression. Debating whether the Chargers should get a new stadium–which goes on and on and on–is simply ludicrous. Granted, I’d like them to stay here but I’m tired of subsidizing multi-millionaires and billionaires with public funds or any bond issue. Our national government just bailed out–and continues to bail out–banks, other financial institutions and automakers who were abject failures over the past three years. Yet their CEOs and upper-level management still got their full compensation plus BONUSES! If you think it’s not the same with the Spanos, think again. We bailed out the banks, etc., because it effected the financial future of millions of people here and abroad. But why should we bankroll a billionaire family who could build their own new stadium with their own money or other financial connections?
My favorite team growing up was the Minnesota Vikings with Fran Tarkenton as QB and I was an avid fan. I watched them every chance I could from the comfort of my home in ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO! I’m sure I’ll follow the Chargers wherever they play.
Comment by: San Diego Sportswire Posted: May 30, 2009, 9:35 am
Having a new stadium would be fantastic! Unfortunately, the city is FLAT BROKE! Borrowing future tax revenues to pay for this project is absolutely absurd considering we can’t even pay our cops, firefighters, and lifeguards the retirement packages they deserve. Sorry to be a downer, but we are also in the midst of the worst economic downturn since the depression and if anyone thinks that San Diego politicians are smart enough to get this done on time and on par with the proposed budget should pass whatever they’re smoking. One thing we can all count on in SD, and that is for our Mayor or City Council to royally screw this up! Just a reality check. BTW, how’s that team we spent $500Mil to help out a few years back… they’re really returning our investment dollars!
Comment by: Arthur Salm: Let’s make the HMOs disappear Posted: June 4, 2009, 3:52 pm
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