San Diego ramping up efforts to keep Chargers from bolting to L.A

Published Jun. 9, 2015 5:14 p.m. ET

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The city of San Diego is stepping up its efforts to keep the Chargers in town.

Well, the city is letting the people have a say in the matter.

A special election will be held Dec. 15 to gain voter approval to build a new stadium for the Chargers, Mayor Kevin Faulconer announced Monday, following a meeting with team ownership.

This news comes nearly one week after the city and team met to discuss stadium funding. The $1.1 billion stadium plan, announced last month by a mayoral task force, will require public assistance, but not a tax increase. A two-thirds majority is necessary for approval.

Here's where things get tricky.

The city's timeline for a vote and the Chargers/NFL's timeline for a relocation decision aren't necessarily the same.

The Chargers could very well decide enough is enough and pull the trigger on leaving before a ballot is even punched Dec. 15.

Who knows if the Chargers even want to stay in San Diego at this point. Kevin Acee of UT-San Diego suggested last week that there are some who believe the Chargers "have slow-played -- even sabotaged -- efforts to get a stadium built in San Diego."

By setting a vote, the city is putting the onus on the Chargers to reveal their true feelings about relocation. If the San Diego stadium plans are approved in December but the Chargers leave anyway, well, Chargers fans can't blame the city.

Your move, Chargers. Literally.

And the Chargers move is simple. It involves moving forward in a partnership with the Oakland Raiders on the Carson stadium project. Carson Holdings, LLC, operated by the Chargers and Raiders, purchased 11 acres of land in Carson, worth $21.97 million, across the street from where the proposed stadium is to be built.

How's that for moving forward? 

Chargers fans might not like the one-foot-out-the-door negotiating style being employed by team ownership, but the city of San Diego has waited a long time to talk seriously about helping the team build a new stadium in town.

It's not like this topic just popped up out of nowhere, either. The flame on this topic has been burning slowly for years now. And the league finally seems ready to move forward. The league actually added an additional owners meeting for August to receive progress updates from each team.

San Diego's decision to wait until December for a vote almost seems like too late. If it's a "special election," can't it be held any time?

As it was suggested here last week, it might be time for the Chargers to move on from San Diego. Neither side seems 100 percent motivated to fix the relationship, so to speak -- or build a new one, for that matter.

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