At Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego State’s football team was the tolerated renter who got to use the bathroom but was banned from the kitchen.

The Aztecs couldn’t use the sky boxes for revenue, and when they asked the Chargers on numerous occasions if they’d like to talk about new video screens, better Wi-Fi or state-of-the-art advertising boards, it was like asking the landlord to build a new pool and Jacuzzi.

Crickets.

With the Chargers moving, the Aztecs have the old house mostly to themselves, but with hopes that it’s a short-term stay on the way to building their dream home.


Since the Chargers announced their move to Los Angeles on Thursday, SDSU athletics has declined comment other than releasing a statement by President Elliot Hirshman, who said, “While the discussions for the (Qualcomm) site are in the early stages, we have an opportunity to create something very special for the community.”

In an interview before the Chargers’ announced move, new SDSU Athletic Director John David Wicker said the new stadium is his top priority. With the NFL team apparently removed from the equation, the situation calls for SDSU to take a bigger lead, possibly working with a group of investors who want to bring a Major League Soccer team to town.

SDSU’s lease at Qualcomm Stadium ends after the 2018 football season.

“The big thing is finding a suitable stadium solution for the long term,” Wicker said. “That means we have to be able to generate revenue over and above what we’re doing now. We need to generate premium sales; we need to generate third-party marketing rights – those types of things that we don’t get now.


“That’s the only way we’re going to be successful moving forward. It’s figuring out what that’s going to look like.”

SDSU has said it is prepared to contribute $100 million to build a stadium – the money coming from fund-raising and bonds that in theory will be offset by the stadium’s new revenue streams.

“I wouldn’t want to take everything we’re making from the new stadium and plow it all back into the stadium,” Wicker said. “We should be able to kick some of that money into paying the bond and also help from an operational standpoint.”

SDSU AD John David Wicker is examining his school using $100 million to help build a new stadium on the Qualcomm Stadium site. (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune )


SDSU athletics is currently supported annually by $10 million in student fees. Would Wicker foresee asking them for more?

“That’s something we’d have to sit down and talk with the folks across campus, with the student leadership” Wicker said. “What’s their appetite for anything? It’s not something that I want to plan or count on until I’ve had a conversation with those folks.”

Wicker said that while he can’t fully replicate the atmosphere that men’s basketball enjoys at Viejas Arena, he hopes to create a far better student and fan experience. He cited better video boards, strong Wi-Fi and possible club areas with TVs that would be exclusive to students.

“The students are our biggest donor,” Wicker said, “and we want to make sure we incorporate what students would like to see in their events and that we’re providing them appropriate access.”


Among the university stadiums that Wicker is looking at for models is the venue at the University of Houston. The 40,000-seat stadium was opened in 2014 at a cost of $128 million. It features 26 suites, 42 loge boxes, 766 club seats, two suite decks and four party decks. Wicker had discussions with Houston officials when the Aztecs played the school in the Las Vegas Bowl.

“They told me they’d love to have me come out to take a look,” Wicker said. “They said they could tell me what they did right and the things they’re regretting now. There’s that road map out there.”

In September, a survey of Aztecs football and local soccer fans conducted by CSL, a leading sports market research firm, asked people to weigh in on amenities such as sky boxes and premium seats. The full study has not been released, but Wicker said the preliminary results indicate that SDSU is financially and conceptually on track in its preliminary planning.

“Every time I’ve seen CSL do a study, they’ve been spot on,” Wicker said. “You know that what you get back in that report you should be able to achieve it.”


tod.leonard@sduniontribune.com; Twitter: @sdutleonard