San Diego, the current home of the Chargers, is going to need a ton of support from voters to keep them around.
As the San Diego Union-Tribune first reported Wednesday night, the Chargers' stadium initiative will need to gain the approval of two-thirds of voters -- not just a simple majority -- because the passing of the initiative would involve a tax increase. Kevin Acee of the Union-Tribune explained on Thursday:
The California State Supreme Court decided to temporarily block a lower court ruling that said tax increases like the Chargers downtown stadium initiative require approval from a simple majority instead of two-thirds of voters. The court said it will review the ruling at a time to be determined.
Acee went on to explain that most rulings take a while to be resolved -- sometimes even years. So, a ruling before November seems unlikely.
Translation: The initiative, which will likely go on the ballot in November, will need overwhelming support to pass. That will be troublesome, even if the team knew this was probably coming.
"We're operating as if it's two-thirds," said Chargers adviser Fred Maas in March, per the Union-Tribune.
The good news is that the initiative should land on the ballot, as the team collected more than 110,000 signatures. It only needed 67,000 and the Union-Tribute reports those signatures should be approved next month.
The initiative involves increasing San Diego's hotel room tax by four percent. The stadium (and the convention center) is expected to cost $1.8 billion, with the NFL and Chargers spending $650 million. If that stadium gets built, the Chargers should expect to host a Super Bowl in the near future.
If the Chargers don't stay in San Diego, they'll have options, namely Los Angeles. Las Vegas mayor Carolyn Goodman also expressed belief that the Chargers could move there if the Raiders' relocation plan doesn't work out. Still, L.A. appears to be the most likely destination.
Moral of the story: Enjoy Philip Rivers while you can, San Diego.
