As promised this week, a volunteer stadium group tasked with finding a new home for the Chargers in San Diego announced Wednesday it will hold a forum on March 2 to hear from the public.
The nine-member Citizens’ Stadium Advisory Group, which Mayor Kevin Faulconer created last month, was set up so that it could meet in private as it comes up with a recommendation for a stadium location and way to pay for it.
The group is posting documents related to its meeting on the city's website under the Real Estate Assets Department.
“The Citizens’ Stadium Advisory Group is looking forward to hearing from San Diegans,” said Adam Day, chairman of the task force, in a statement. “We want to hear about their good ideas and we want to know what their concerns are as we work toward selecting a site for a new stadium and developing a financing plan for public consideration."
Faulconer asked the group, made up of community and business leaders, to reach a decision by this fall on whether the stadium should be built at the Qualcomm Stadium site in Mission Valley or in downtown San Diego. It also is to develop a funding plan for the new stadium. The proposal would go before voters in 2016.
The group's public forum will be from 6 to 9 p.m. March 2 at the Qualcomm Stadium Club Lounge S. The lounge is the most easily accessible through Gate A.
Meanwhile, the Chargers' point-man in their long-running stadium search told City News Service that team president and CEO Dean Spanos would be willing to meet with Faulconer.
"Dean has met with the mayor before, and of course I have met with the mayor and his staff on many occasions," said Mark Fabiani, who has led the team's quest since 2002. "Dean would be happy to meet with the mayor again."
Faulconer wrote Spanos Tuesday and suggested a one-on-one meeting in an effort to defuse rising tensions involving Fabiani, the task force and mayor's office.
Fabiani wrote Faulconer on Tuesday to ask — among other things — why members of the mayor's staff and former campaign employees attended a private task force meeting on Monday. Fabiana questioned if the group was truly independent and if the political and media consultant had conflicts of interest.
Faulconer then wrote Spanos to complain about Fabiani's ongoing criticism of the task force since it was announced last month.
