Chargers’ stadium hopes take punch to gut
What happened to the Chargers on Wednesday night has happened to most everyone.
You know you’re not going to win the lottery. But you’ve got a ticket, and you allow yourself to fantasize.
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The further your mind drifts, the more you hope against hope.
Then the actual winning numbers are read …
That’s essentially what the California Supreme Court’s announcement was – the Chargers’ lottery ticket going in the trash.
That’s all. Life goes on. Back to the grind.
The state’s high court on Wednesday temporarily blocked a lower court ruling that said tax increases like the Chargers’ downtown stadium initiative require approval from a simple majority instead of two-thirds of voters. The court said it will review the ruling at a time to be determined.
Hopefully no one tries to paint this as some sort of landmark ruling (non-ruling). The Chargers have operated under the assumption they would need the super majority. Peripherally, this changes nothing.
But it was the type of confirmation that erodes hope.
And it illuminates the reality that the Chargers can’t catch a break as their hopes for victory in November fade.
California’s two-thirds requirement for tax hikes is a political Mount Everest. Here, given the current climate of some 60 percent of potential voters being opposed to public funds being used for a stadium, it is more like climbing to the moon on a stairway of pixie dust.
And voters seem friendly to the initiative compared to the city’s politicians and the bulk of the tourism industry, which the team wants to tax to fund construction of an East Village stadium and convention center.
A simple majority was seen by many as the Chargers’ only hope. For years, in fact, the Chargers argued that the two-thirds threshold was an impossible aim.
Opponents of the Chargers’ measure believe the team acquiring even 50 percent approval would be a challenge. Those foes are positively buoyant about their chances against 66.6 percent
And to be clear, with Wednesday’s court action, the requirement is two-thirds and almost certainly will be come November. After the Supreme Court decides to consider a case, it can take more than a year for resolution, according to court watchers. So we are headed to an election that could yield an unknown result.
The Chargers could get 52 or 59 or even 66.2 percent of the vote and not know for sure whether they failed.
At that point, it would be up to them (and the NFL) whether they would wait for a court ruling or try another measure in San Diego or move to Los Angeles.
This could go on forever.
It has been clear for some time – a month, maybe two – that the air is leaking from the downtown stadium proponents’ balloon. Wednesday poked another hole. But it did not cause a giant whoosh just yet, the kind that happens when all the air gushes out and the balloon flies wildly through the air before falling to the ground in a limp heap.
It does not appear that will happen.
Chargers stadium point man Fred Maas was travelling Thursday. Asked via text if the Chargers would for sure be going forward with their initiative to November, he replied, “Absolutely.”
It must be noted that the Chargers’ stadium campaign has not even begun. The team awaits the City Clerk’s ratification of the signatures they turned in earlier this month and then the City Council’s approval for the measure to go to the ballot.
They will then launch an effort expected to cost them upwards of $5 million - on top of the $1 million or so spent to get their 111,000 signatures.
With that kind of blitzkrieg, and with a winning season leading up to the Nov. 8 election, they can certainly sway a portion of the populace their way. But to think they can repair the punctures they continue to absorb is more fantasy.
