Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Taxpayers association thumbs down Chargers proposal

"...hotel tax should be utilized for critical city services, like street repairs..."

Stadium proposal rendering
Stadium proposal rendering

The San Diego County Taxpayers Association today (August 22) stated its opposition to the Chargers proposal for a subsidized stadium downtown. Stated the association: "San Diego should not raise taxes to subsidize a billion-dollar corporation; increases to the hotel tax should be utilized for critical city services, like street repairs and infrastructure improvements."

The study found that even under the most optimistic assumptions, "The City of San Diego would likely have to service debt from the general fund, which pays for a wide range of public services, in order to maintain its credit ratings and avoid higher financing charges for future debt."

Sponsored
Sponsored

The Chargers initiative would raise the hotel tax from 10.5 percent (realistically 12.5 percent) to 16.5 percent. The money would go to paying debt on the subsidized stadium downtown. The combined stadium/convention-center — convadium expansion would cost $1.8 billion, according to the Chargers. But if interest on the bonds is included, the cost balloons to $2.3 billion, says the association. The convention-center expansion part of the project would generate merely $2.3 million a year in hotel-tax revenue, compared to $67 million in annual public costs.

The study exposes optimistic assumptions of the Chargers plan. For example, moving the MTS bus yard would cost $70 million to $80 million. As a result, bus fares would have to go up. Further, "the City of San Diego has approximately $50 million in outstanding debt from the renovation of Qualcomm Stadium in 1997. The approximate $4.9 million in annual debt service will continue for another ten years through fiscal year 2026 and is not covered by the Chargers ballot measure."

The Chargers lease agreement allows for early termination of the lease, and if the team exercised that option, the city would assume debt liability that would not be covered by the exit fee required of the Chargers. The association summarizes a number of economists' studies showing conclusively that the subsidization of stadiums does not lead to economic growth of a city.

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Birdwatching bonanza, earliest sunset of the year, bulb planting time

Venus shines its brightest
Stadium proposal rendering
Stadium proposal rendering

The San Diego County Taxpayers Association today (August 22) stated its opposition to the Chargers proposal for a subsidized stadium downtown. Stated the association: "San Diego should not raise taxes to subsidize a billion-dollar corporation; increases to the hotel tax should be utilized for critical city services, like street repairs and infrastructure improvements."

The study found that even under the most optimistic assumptions, "The City of San Diego would likely have to service debt from the general fund, which pays for a wide range of public services, in order to maintain its credit ratings and avoid higher financing charges for future debt."

Sponsored
Sponsored

The Chargers initiative would raise the hotel tax from 10.5 percent (realistically 12.5 percent) to 16.5 percent. The money would go to paying debt on the subsidized stadium downtown. The combined stadium/convention-center — convadium expansion would cost $1.8 billion, according to the Chargers. But if interest on the bonds is included, the cost balloons to $2.3 billion, says the association. The convention-center expansion part of the project would generate merely $2.3 million a year in hotel-tax revenue, compared to $67 million in annual public costs.

The study exposes optimistic assumptions of the Chargers plan. For example, moving the MTS bus yard would cost $70 million to $80 million. As a result, bus fares would have to go up. Further, "the City of San Diego has approximately $50 million in outstanding debt from the renovation of Qualcomm Stadium in 1997. The approximate $4.9 million in annual debt service will continue for another ten years through fiscal year 2026 and is not covered by the Chargers ballot measure."

The Chargers lease agreement allows for early termination of the lease, and if the team exercised that option, the city would assume debt liability that would not be covered by the exit fee required of the Chargers. The association summarizes a number of economists' studies showing conclusively that the subsidization of stadiums does not lead to economic growth of a city.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Will Trump’s Baja resort be built after all?

Long-stalled development sparks art exhibit, gets new life
Next Article

Issa aide collaborates with Ukrainians

Carlsbad's Tracy Slepcevic, Warrior Mom, and her ties to RFK, Jr.
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader