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Voters Reject San Diego Chargers Stadium

Preliminary Chargers Stadium Design

By a wide margin, San Diego voters have rejected the San Diego ChargersMeasure C, an initiative that called for the construction of a new stadium/convention center.

The measure, which would have allowed for a hotel tax increase from 12.5% to 16.5% to cover $1.15 billion in costs for the $1.8 billion project, was not expected to pass in Tuesday’s election. A pending court case would have required two-thirds approval, and polling numbers leading up to the vote were not promising for the Chargers.

In the end, the final vote was not close–returns as of this morning showed that only 43% of voters approved of the plan. The question now is how the Chargers will proceed in their search for a new stadium. The team’s option to move to Los Angeles expires in January, so a decision on that should come soon.

There will also be the question of how likely a new stadium–under a different proposal–is to come to fruition at all in San Diego. More from The San Diego Union-Tribune:

Chargers owner Dean Spanos posted a letter to fans on the team’s website after midnight thanking all those who helped put Measure C on the ballot and supported it. He said there would be no immediate decision about the way forward.

“In terms of what comes next for the Chargers, it’s just too early to give you an answer,” he wrote. “We are going to diligently explore and weigh our options, and do what is needed to maintain our options, but no decision will be announced until after the football season concludes and no decision will be made in haste.”

Spanos said in September that how close Measure C came to passing could play a key role in that decision.

The team has until Jan. 15 to exercise an option to move to Los Angeles and join the Rams in a stadium being constructed in Inglewood.

RELATED STORIES: Vote on San Diego Chargers Stadium Could Affect Raiders, RamsSan Diego Chargers Stadium Struggling in PollsChargers Look Beyond Election DayChargers Measure C Faces Opposition; Kevin Faulconer Backs Chargers Stadium Effort; Is Los Angeles the Chargers Only Backup Plan? 

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August Publications