Patriots may owe UCSD thousands

It turns out the Chargers weren’t the only locals to lose when the New England Patriots came to town earlier this month.

The University of California, San Diego was poised to receive $17,573.73 from the Patriots to practice on its campus during the week leading up the Dec. 7 game against the Chargers. Documents obtained from UC San Diego via the California Public Records Act indicate the university still hadn’t received payment several weeks later, despite a nonrefundable deposit due when the contract was signed Nov. 26.

Two days into their practices, the New Englanders canceled their deal with UC San Diego and moved to the University of San Diego. The shift came after word got out about their location, although the team declined to comment on what led to the change. It did, however, ask that the new location not be made public until after its first practice on Wednesday of that week.

Despite the cancellation, the Patriots were supposed to have paid UC San Diego $13,180 at the time of the signing. Instead, UC San Diego is billing the Patriots for $10,510, reflecting two days of use and 30 percent of the portion canceled. A final statement dated Dec. 12 shows no deposit had been received, and that the full balance was due.

A woman who answered the phone at UC San Diego’s sports facilities office said those who could answer questions on the contract were on vacation and would not return until January.

In a statement sent Monday night, the Patriots said they received a bill from UC San Diego last week and would be paying within their standard response time.

A spokeswoman for the private University of San Diego declined to comment on the value of its contract with the Patriots.

New England lost to the Green Bay Packers on Nov. 30. Instead of returning to the East Coast from Wisconsin, the team decided to hold practices in San Diego in the week leading up to its Dec. 7 game against the Chargers. While the decision wasn’t reported until around the time of the game in Green Bay, the contract with UC San Diego was dated a month earlier on Nov. 1.

The team was to practice at the UC San Diego Spanos facilities, where the Chargers held training camp from 1976 to 2002.

In anticipation, the university painted football lines onto fields, planned for a screen fence to limit spectators, and changed weight-room practice schedules for its teams. The contract says the Patriots were to practice from 8 a.m. to early afternoon Dec. 1 to Dec. 5, with access to the weight room, locker room and north campus track stadium.

The team wanted 1,000 pounds of ice per day, seven 5-gallon jugs of water, two golf carts, Americans with Disabilities Act toilets for Patriots on the field, seven Arrowhead water bottles per day, 5 gallons of field lining paint, and mats for stair steps.

The team planned to pay an event manager $25 an hour, field-lining assistants $15 an hour, and security guards $18.25 an hour.

The Patriots defeated the Chargers 23-14 on Sunday Night Football at Qualcomm Stadium. They then traveled back home to host Miami the following week, a game they also won.