Chargers leave, Chargers pay

With San Diego facing a torrent of red ink for years to come, city officials have been scrambling for extra cash to plug their ever-growing deficit holes. “Expenditures will outpace annual growth in revenues in the first two fiscal years of the five-year period, with a $36.9 million deficit projected for [fiscal year] 2018, and a $20.7 million deficit projected for [fiscal year] 2019,” notes a December 16 report by the city’s independent budget analyst. Worse yet, “the Mayor’s deficit and surplus projections do not include costs associated with a number of significant critical expenditure needs.”

There is one bright spot, however: “The Chargers have indicated that they may exercise an option to move to Los Angeles at the conclusion of the current NFL Season. While no decision has been made at this time, if the Chargers do elect to leave and vacate their lease at Qualcomm Stadium before the beginning of the next NFL season, their current lease would require the team to make a one-time payment to the City of $12.6 million.”