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Following Chargers' departure, SDSU looking to extend stadium lease through 2020
San Diego State would like to stay at Qualcomm Stadium for four more seasons.
With the San Diego Chargers now the Los Angeles Chargers, the Aztecs are set to be the main occupant of Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego. The school’s current lease goes through the 2018 season, but athletic director John David Wicker said Thursday the school has started talks to stay at Qualcomm through 2020.
The two-year extension would give SDSU an opportunity to build a football stadium for itself without having to find a temporary home. But that two-year lease would, of course, have to come with the assurance that Qualcomm Stadium would stay open. That’s apparently not a guaranteed.
“The city is still obligated to maintain the stadium for its other tenants, including San Diego State University and the Bowl Association, through 2018,” Craig Gustafson, a spokesperson for San Diego Mayor Kevin Falconer told the San Diego Union Tribune. “Given the anticipated ongoing expense to the general fund, the city is undergoing review of the financial feasibility of continuing stadium operations beyond that point.”
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The city is projected to continue to lose money on the stadium following the Chargers’ departure. Per the Union-Tribune, San Diego State’s lease and the Holiday Bowl and Poinsettia Bowl are only worth $160,000 a year, though the NFL’s absence may actually help costs.
Gustafson said the net overall loss for the stadium, which is revenue minus operations and maintenance costs, is estimated to be at least $11.7 million for the fiscal year that begins on July 1.
That doesn’t include $4.7 million the city is scheduled to pay every year through 2027 to retire the $38 million in debt from the 1990s. But the city must pay that money regardless of whether the stadium continues to operate.
San Diego State has had its eyes on a new stadium for some time. When Wicker took over for now-Missouri athletic director Jim Sterk this fall, he mentioned the stadium as a priority for the university. The school has been eyeing a facility in the 30,000-40,000 capacity range. It would provide what the school hopes would be a better atmosphere and more revenue.
But in the interim as the near-term future is murky, San Diego State is attempting to capitalize on being the major football team in the area. Thursday’s press conference was to announce a contract extension with coach Rocky Long through 2021 and broke out a “one city, one team” slogan it will continue to use in the coming months.
“Number one, it’s a sad deal to see the Chargers leave,” Long said at his press conference. “It kind of puts a hole in things as far as the community goes and the way people look at football. But then again, I also look at it as an opportunity. There are a lot of good football fans in this town that may not want to drive (to Los Angeles) to see a football game when they can see a pretty good product right here at home and maybe they’ll become fans of our team.
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“I think that college football has a lot of things to offer that pro football does not. And it’s still a high caliber of football. But the emotional part of the game and the way people get into it is much different than a pro football game. Hopefully, we’re going to gain a lot of fans that want to watch football. We’re going to put a good product out there, so they’ll get to see a winning team. We’re the only show in town right now for all of those people who love to watch football, and we plan on that helping us to be better than we’ve been in the past.”
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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
