His honor, Mayor Kevin Faulconer, knows some things about the Chargers’ downtown stadium/convention center (the “Convadium,” as Caesar might call it) initiative. But he’s too unaware of details to play political pontiff and give his blessing or damnification. Yet.

He’s not going to buy a vowel to help solve the puzzle. He’s not going conclusion-jumping. There’s a judgment in front of him, but he’s not going to play the fool rushing in. To him, there are too many unanswered questions for him to fall on this bureaucratic football and signal a first down, one way or the other.

So, as he trudges from budget meetings to campaign managing in this election year, he’s not in a hurry on this. I wish he were. I think time’s a-wastin’. He doesn’t. He’s being careful. He doesn’t know enough. This isn’t like putting in another confounded bicycle lane. I can’t blame him for that.

But he is aware of many things going on. Not all, but enough for now, enough to know he’s not pinching his nostrils and jumping into it tomorrow morning.


“It’s been two-and-a-half weeks!” he says, semi-incredulously. “The timetable on this is the time it takes to do it right. And we have one shot to do it right.”

He realizes that the project is getting something less than zero push from City Hall, as if Barney Fifes and Sheldon Coopers are trying to shove around sumo wrestlers.

“I can’t think of one elected official who’s in favor of it,” he’s telling me in his office, knowing, with a slight chuckle, how I feel, that the great majority of his colleagues didn’t even read the 110-page plan before knocking it. Probably still haven’t; probably won’t unless they’re assured re-election.

He knows the Chargers would like a sweeping positive decree from everyone voted into office, but he also knows there’s one huge thing the Chargers need from all this: a mayoral endorsement. The principals involved have flat told me it can’t be done without him.


“I think they know very clearly that working with the mayor on this is important,” Faulconer says. “We’re dealing with two very important issues here — a convention center and a stadium.”

He believes it will reach the ballot box.

“They will get enough signatures,” he says. “I’m sure of it.”

He won’t say it, but he knows the Chargers’ initiative and the initiative of attorney Cory Briggs won’t work together — the Briggs one doesn’t involve a stadium — and that City Attorney Jan Goldsmith believes there are legal problems with the latter. Goldsmith doesn’t have any issues with the Chargers’ project.


The mayor doesn’t want to go in blind.

“We’d better know what we’re talking about,” he says. “We’ve better have the numbers vetted. The Chargers, or Goldman Sachs, have said it’s a $1.8 billion project. It’s a guesstimate. We’ve got to verify that number. I’ve already spent a lot of time on this, with the Mission Valley project (that the team rejected). I’ve built my career asking tough questions, and I’m going to ask them.

“I’m meeting with (Chargers project point man) Fred Maas (on Friday), and then the tourism people. Fred’s great, but I have to stand in front of San Diego as mayor. None of my predecessors did a thing about a new stadium. The proposal is the largest bond offering in the history of this city. So it’s a pretty big deal. And we have to do our due diligence.”

If this thing gets support, the key will be whether the initiative needs two-thirds or a simple majority of the vote to pass. The Chargers aren’t counting on the latter, but if they think they can get 66.7 percent of the vote here, they’re overloaded on medicinal herbs. An appellate court has ruled that a simple majority works in these matters.


“That’s what our city attorney believes it will need to pass,” Faulconer says. “But we’ll have to see if it’s appealed and, if so, it can get done in time for the vote.”

His honor is well aware of my feelings. The project would be paid for by hotel taxes, which means visitors would pay for nearly all of it. We need a new stadium, preferably one with a soft roof that can house many attractions other than football. We need a convention center expansion. One last blast at two birds. Let other people pay for the damn thing.

“There’s an emotional element to it because of that,” the mayor says. “It’s a huge deal. People sitting in my chair have not done a good job with this sort of thing in the past. I’m not just reviewing the financial part of it, but the whole picture. We have yet to see drawings. Pretty important. The cost overrun on the convention part of it would be paid by the city, you know.

“But we’ve had open dialogue with Fred and the Chargers. People in my position before me didn’t exactly do well with big-ticket items.


“This has to be a winner.”

Has to be. To avoid being a loser. Sooner or later, we have to get sick of losing — especially when we can do something about it.

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