Exactly. No multi-use stadiums will ever be built again unless it's for football and soccer, and even then the attendance discrepancy doesn't make sense, MLS teams play in NFL stadiums as a stop-gap measure until they get their own stadium of appropriate size.

You can't just lay down grass over the top of a dirt infield and assume it's going to be good for football. I assume next year's Holiday Bowl will be at Snapdragon and if it's not already I bet they're having serious conversations this morning. Petco's a cool venue but I don't think they can get good turf to grow in such a short amount of time after the baseball season is over.

Not to mention it would literally ruin Petco Park. Turning it into a bowl would ruin all the views out of the stadium.

That's the main reason why the Raiders moved out of Oakland (twice) and the A's are hanging on by a thread. Turning Petco into a multi purpose stadium should never be a thought.

I believe Snapdragon can be expanded up to 55,000 no?

That would be the better option

And put some shade while you're at it

OK, Petco is for baseball and Snapdragon is for football. I hope you are right that it could be expanded to 50,000 at least, the bare minimum for NFL these days. If the Chargers keep failing to catch on in L.A., maybe they will come back home instead of sneaking off to San Antonio/Austin, where they have no fan base. I think San Diego fans would embrace them again, and let bygones be bygones and Snapdragon would be packed. Of course SDSU would have to share, and hopefully agree to some more seats and perhaps a few luxury boxes for their fans and the Chargers. But more seats is the main thing. I think you are correct, that the plans did consider the possibility of future seat expansion.

As a transitional measure, let me suggest that the Chargers in the next year or two test the waters, proclaim themselves Southern California's team, and play perhaps 2-3 home games at Snapdragon instead of SOFI to see if the fans come back (they will). The local fans know that if they pack the stadium, it is more likely the Chargers would come back for good. All the bridges have not been burned.

Besides housing all the homeless, we should also focus on getting an arena for pro basketball and hockey, hopefully downtown. The proposed Midway arena doesn't quite cut it for major league teams. A waste of money.

The Chargers aren't leaving LA anytime soon. Sure they are the NFL's version of the LA Clippers (which...hmm...sensing a theme here) but there is no way they are going to divide their time between San Diego and Los Angeles. Not only that, Snapdragon can be expanded to 50k. The smallest NFL stadium is Soldier Field in Chicago at 61k (which the Bears are in the process of leaving).

Snapdragon would be a stop-gap measure like the Carson soccer stadium was if the Chargers ever come back. Snapdragon was not built to NFL specs as it relates to suites, concessions, restrooms, other amenities, etc. It's not just the number of seats. If the Chargers ever move, it'll be because the Spanos family sold the team. Dean Spanos is ranked #22 on the list of richest owners, is in a nasty lawsuit with his sister, and had to get a loan with a 20-year extension plus help from the NFL to pay for the $650m relocation fee they charged to move to LA. The Spanos family wealth is from real estate, not exactly the right source of money these days, but every indication is they are not selling anytime soon.

The best we can hope for is an ownership change to someone with multiple billions, like a Steve Balmer/Clippers situation, where he's building his own NBA palace on the outskirts of the SoFi Stadium property for the Clippers. Just not sure if San Diego govt will welcome the team back with an appropriate location that will be approved for an NFL stadium. You already know the team would have to finance the whole thing itself, the city and county are not going to help except maybe with some property sold at a slightly below-market rate, but otherwise the govt is not going to help at all.

The other option is a small market team with a rich owner, Jacksonville always comes to mind, that wants a bigger market. Jacksonville is irrelevant nationally, the city is not a Super Bowl destination like SD is and the NFL would probably much rather have a team in SD than a team in Jacksonville. Plus, the Jaguars name would work nicely in SD considering the stature of the Zoo. But the owner recently put a couple hundred million in improvements to their stadium so may not be actively pursuing a move either. A team like Carolina could also move, another team in an irrelevant market with an older (by NFL standards) stadium and a rich owner with a tech background. That's about it when it comes to possible relocation teams, Buffalo is building a new stadium and so is Tennessee. But if the NFL is serious about expansion with a team full-time in some place like Mexico City, SD may still have a chance. It'll come down to how NFL-friendly the local govts are willing to be.

Zero chance the Chargers leave the LA market. They play in the Taj Mahal of sports arenas / stadiums, they have more than doubled in value since moving to LA, sell out every game (sure with a lot of visiting fans, but basically no different than it was in SD or how it is in Vegas, Miami, Dallas, Washington, NY, etc) and are finding a footing here in LA and I say all this as a Rams fan. Sorry guys, that ship has sailed.

The NFL is a dying cartel that breaks and kills its players while demanding taxpayers foot their stadium bills. Will the NFL come back to SD? No thanks!

The Jags have a better chance of moving to London than the Chargers do moving back to San Diego. And the Panthers have always been a fairly good team and well supported (since the team represents 2 states).

I think the NFL experiment is over in San Diego. However, San Diego would be perfect for a MLS team.

Echoing Brandon's comments about SD not getting an NFL team any time soon and being a great MLS candidate.

For the record, Carolina is hardly an irrelevant market. Second largest banking hub in the US after New York and 22nd largest media market in Charlotte. San Diego is 27th. Now Jacksonville, I would agree with what you said, but looks like they're going nowhere.

Pinnacle has fenced off their property at West A and Columbia. Excavation equipment is on site, looks to be breaking ground soon.

Isn't that The Lindley from Toll Brothers, or are you referring to a different site?

If they just fenced it off it must be a different site. The Lindley has been under construction for awhile and I don't think it could be mistaken for something that's about to break ground.

Yes. Different site sharing the same block as Downtown works and 2 Columbia Place. Doesn't help that the downtown interactive map doesn't display project data anymore but if I recall correctly, Pinnacle is the developer and it's supposed to be 38 stories. There are crews on site today tearing up the asphalt.

If that's the location, it must be this one at 1270 Columbia:

https://kwnyc.com/sold/1270-columbia...ercial/144220/

Though it's not 38 stories. You may be confusing it with Lindley which is 37 stories. Either way, it's a good infill project for that corner. The boring backside of 2 Columbia Place will get covered up at the very least.

Must have been resold then. This was the last mention of the project I recall seeing.

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com...ks-to-separate

Pics from on site.

https://i.imgur.com/lZn72QP.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/ZlcJ8m3.jpg

Interesting! I can't find any renders of this online. Anyone got any?

I agree with part of that. I doubt the Chargers would ever come back but I think a better answer is the city in general could care less as younger NFL fans aren’t even familiar they were a team here now. Their sliding tv ratings in San Diego since they left shows Charger fans left here are small. Their ownership is garbage since Alex died and their efforts since going to LA are well, uninspiring so who cares?

I do think anything’s possible with the NFL with teams relocating in the future and a city that supported a NFL team previously for nearly 50 years wasn’t exactly an experiment. So unlikely right now, yes, but anything’s possible in the future since they currently have existing stadiums that could support a football team now until a new stadium could be built.

The city now is more focused on a better than 50-50 chance they get a MLS team and if nothing stops the new arena in a few years there might be a team or teams out there unhappy with their current site and might be attracted by a shiny new arena. Sports aren’t dead yet in San Diego since the Padres are drawing in the top 5 in MLB and have been in top 3 before with 3 million plus fans very possible every year with the new ownership. I think a lot of Charger fans checked out long before the team relocated in 2016. The Padres are providing a blueprint for sports success in San Diego….