Feature

Letter urges San Diego Mayor to oppose new NFL stadium

Letter urges San Diego Mayor to oppose new NFL stadium

A group of business and civic leaders have written a joint letter to the Mayor of San Diego, Kevin Faulconer, urging him to vote against the proposed construction of a new $1.8bn (€1.6bn) stadium in the US city.

In July, it was decided that residents of San Diego would vote on whether the city’s hotel tax rates should be raised to fund the development of the multi-purpose stadium, which would primarily serve as the new home of NFL American football team the San Diego Chargers.

More than 110,000 people signed a petition in favour of the motion being put to a public ballot, but the move has drawn criticism from some quarters. Under the solution put forward, the tax on hotel stays in San Diego would rise from 12.5 per cent to 16.5 per cent.

The letter, which was signed by 27 individuals that hold various roles within San Diego, states that four independent financial analyses have deemed the move too much of a financial risk.

The letter, which was published by the San Diego Union-Tribune newspaper, also claims that too much is missing from the original ballot initiative, and that the move would halve guaranteed tourism funding.

The Raiders will spend the upcoming 2016 NFL season at Qualcomm Stadium, its home since 1967.

In February, the Raiders agreed a deal with NFL rival the Los Angeles Rams, formerly known as the St Louis Rams, to relocate to LA should it be unable to find a long-term solution to its stadium problems.

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