Expanding and upgrading San Diego’s parks system, getting homeless veterans off the streets and rebuilding the city’s middle class are among the priorities Mayor Kevin Faulconer laid out Thursday night in his annual State of the City address.

Faulconer also endorsed for the first time Councilman Mark Kersey’s proposed infrastructure ballot measure, vowed to place a convention center expansion plan on the ballot and said there’s still a chance to keep the Chargers in San Diego.

As the team considers its option to share a new stadium in Inglewood with the St. Louis Rams , the mayor urged new negotiations with the Chargers to work out a stadium deal here.

“It’s not too late to do what’s right for our team, our fans and our home,” Faulconer said, lobbying the team to choose San Diego over Inglewood.

He praised the passion of San Diego fans who have “stood with the Chargers through victory and defeat for more than 50 years.”

“You can’t get that in L.A. You can’t get that in Inglewood,” he said to applause. “You can only get that in San Diego.”

The speech, delivered to several hundred people at downtown San Diego’s Balboa Theatre, also covered the mayor’s accomplishments since taking office nearly two years ago and expressed optimism that the diverse city is becoming more unified.

"By working together, we are building our better future," Faulconer said. "And tonight, we draw our blueprint for what comes next."

Much of the speech focused on the city’s parks system, with the mayor promising new parks, upgrades to old parks, a partnership with local schools to boost park access, and a long-awaited parks master plan.

"It will give us a blueprint for building parks in every community," said Faulconer of the master plan, which he called "the first comprehensive vision for San Diego’s parks in more than 60 years."

The mayor said ground will be broken on 50 new or upgraded parks during the next five years.

And the city is teaming up with the San Diego Unified School District on a "Play All Day" initiative, which will open up new community parks on school property and allow access outside of school hours.

"There are fields and green space across San Diego that our communities could use on evenings and weekends, but because they’re on school property they get locked up whenever class isn’t in session," Faulconer said. "We shouldn’t let government bureaucracy stand in the way of making our neighborhoods great."

In addition, the city recently launched a three-year planning process to transform the De Anza Cove mobile home park on Mission Bay into what Faulconer called "San Diego’s next great public space."

Another key initiative included in the speech is a $12 million effort to get homeless veterans off the streets with financial subsidies, new public policies and new partnerships with landlords.

Called "Housing our Heroes," the program will aim to get 1,000 homeless veterans off San Diego’s streets.

"When veterans find themselves on the verge of homelessness or without housing, we will help them find a place to live — so the word ‘homeless’ never enters their vocabulary," Faulconer said.

The San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce and the San Diego Apartment Association have agreed to help identify hundreds of housing units for veterans, the mayor said. And the San Diego Housing Commission has calculated the money needed for security deposits and rent, he said.

Faulconer said he will ask the City Council for $4 million for the program.

The mayor also focused on giving young people the opportunity to become part of San Diego’s middle class when they grow up, a goal the mayor said has become more challenging in recent years.

Part of the problem, he said, is that high-paying local jobs in health care and technology go unfilled because not enough local applicants have the required skills.

“When it seems more likely that a San Diego kid will end up with a job in fast food — rather than a future in biotechnology — something has to change,” Faulconer said.

So the mayor is launching two initiatives, labs for young students at local businesses and a jobs program for high school and college students.

The lab program will be modeled after Qualcomm’s Thinkabit Lab, where 3,000 middle-school students from southeastern San Diego have been given hands-on robotics experience to nurture their love of science.

Northrop Grumman, Raytheon and SeaWorld have already agreed to participate, and the mayor said he plans to add two more companies.

The jobs program, called One San Diego One Hundred, is a campaign to have 100 local businesses offer jobs to those in high school and college, with a focus on low-income areas.

Sharp HealthCare, San Diego Gas & Electric, NASSCO and Cox Communications have agreed to participate, Faulconer said.

“We will build the stronger middle class San Diegans deserve,” the mayor said. “We will make San Diego known as a city where opportunity is back within reach.”

Councilman David Alvarez said after the speech that he supports such initiatives, but is skeptical they will actually happen based on previous “State of the City” speeches.

“Promises are made during these speeches and it comes down to the follow through,” he said. “We have to make sure the mayor leads on these.”

Chamber chief executive Jerry Sanders praised the proposals, saying that if anyone can boost the middle class it’s Faulconer.

The mayor also gave his potentially pivotal support to Councilman Kersey's proposed June ballot measure, which would require an estimated $4 billion to $5 billion in future sales tax revenue increases and pension savings be spent on infrastructure over the next 30 years.

Some have called the proposal a cleverly crafted solution, while others say it’s inflexible and "ballot box" budgeting.

Faulconer praised it as a way to cement for future mayors and councils his ongoing pledge to spend half of all new revenues on infrastructure.

Kersey said after the speech that the mayor’s endorsement would be “very helpful.” The council is expected to vote whether to place the measure on the June ballot by the end of January.

The mayor also vowed to pursue a ballot measure to expand the San Diego Convention Center on the waterfront, saying a lawsuit holding up the project is costing the local economy tens of millions of dollars.

“I will continue to stand up for San Diego’s jobs and neighborhoods by fighting for this in court, and we will put a legally defensible plan on the ballot to finance this project,” he said. “It’s time to settle this once and for all — and get the convention center expanded.”

As he did during his first “State of the City” last winter, the mayor spoke several sentences of the speech on Spanish and received applause for doing so.

The speech was preceded by an inspirational video extolling the virtues and assets of San Diego.

Before the speech, a small group of protestors gathered outside the theater carrying “Black Lives Matter” signs.

In his remarks, Faulconer praised the City Council for appealing this week a state labor board ruling that threatens the city’s pension cutbacks.

He also urged the council to approve this month his proposal to put excess cash at City Hall into a new pension stabilization fund he wants to create.

The mayor also summarized his accomplishments during the last year, including:

• Streamlining public works projects to more efficiently spend taxpayer money.

• Bringing Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game to San Diego this summer.

• Replacing winter homeless tents with a permanent, year-round homeless shelter.

• Getting council approval for a bold climate action plan that Faulconer said "sets the bar for the nation."

• Increasing hours at city recreation centers.

• Focusing more on community policing, where officers work closely with residents and neighborhood leaders.