Dear Don,
I’ve read and re-read your column; City is pussyfooting as Chargers go
smash-mouth.
Would you hire a plumber, with expertise in all manner of valves, to perform
open-heart surgery? Probably not.
Yet isn’t this akin to the Citizen’s Task Force on Chargers Issues, all
competent members in their own fields, matching wits with the Chargers owners,
attorneys, and the NFL. None of the task force members, as far as we know, has
ever owned a sports team, understands the intricacies of sports economics, or is
a billionaire as are several team owners in the NFL. The task force members,
excellent business people as they may be, are each spending perhaps 10 hours a
month representing the city by asking questions about professional football and
expect to outsmart the Chargers management and attorneys who probably spend 10
hours a day on the subtle, complex economic forces, and tax deductions that
govern major league football.
I'm struck by the fact that the executive director of the Holiday Bowl for just
this one event is paid substantially more money than the Director of the city’s
property department whose responsibilities include not only Qualcomm Stadium but
also hundreds of other properties owned by the City of San Diego.
Furthermore, it would not be a surprise if each of the attorneys who work for
the centi-millionaires and billionaires in football make two to three time more
money than the attorneys working for the city. But that's not the major
difference; the city has extremely capable attorneys. None of the city’s
attorneys spend all or even most of their time on Charger issues. For the
Charger’s attorneys it's pretty much a full time job, with the full resources of
the NFL and tens of millions of dollars at stake, this gives them an enormous
advantage over the City of San Diego and a voluntary citizens task force.
The Sports Arena, you’ll recall, in its first years also hemorrhaged money. The
City guaranteed the bonds. Then Peter Graham sitting in his office in Canada
said he looked at this “This Beautiful Lady,” as he called it, in San Diego and
bought the leasehold, relieving the city of its obligation. He made some changes
and turned a profit. You may recall also the County had a $134 Million White
Elephant in the San Marcos Trash to Energy Plant that jeopardized the county's
credit rating. The county's solid waste system was put up for sale and sold for
$184 million relieving the county of the financial burden and it Moody's credit
rating immediately jumped from Baa1 to A2.
I discussed this with former City Manager Ray Blair who also is a sports
enthusiast and former sportscaster and he agreed that the best thing for the
city would be to put the stadium up for sale.
Pit ambition against ambition, as James Madison might say. Let the billionaires
of this country match wits with each other to see who can come up with the best
deal for the city. The city might advertise the stadium in the Wall Street
Journal, with a minimum bid of say $75 million to generate a lot of interest,
specify deed restrictions requiring a stadium be maintained, retain the right to
reject any and all offers and see if the Chargers, its competitors, or major
land developers for Billion Dollar REITs respond. It’s possible some
billionaire, team owner or otherwise, might develop the 166 acres into a
profitable venture. Someone whom the Chargers can’t hornswoggle, keep the team
in San Diego, and bring in several times $75 million to the city. This is the
only way to save the city, and its taxpayers from the ongoing trauma for as far
as the eye can see --that’s associated with Qualcomm Stadium. Professional
sports teams know that elected officials know they can't get re-elected if they
lose a sports franchise and as far as I can tell the NFL has won every single
competition it has ever entered with every city in which it plays. Not good
odds for the City of San Diego or its politicians. The one great escape for
politicians is to auction off the stadium to the highest bidder where the
politicians can't be blamed for the results.
What do you think about pushing to put the stadium up for auction?Best regards,
Fred Schnaubelt
Fred Schnaubelt
2728 Adams Avenue
San Diego, Ca. 92116
(619) 280-2082
|
