Executives of the San Diego Chargers were in Stockton Tuesday talking with their traffic and parking consultants. The team says parking is a so-called “threshold issue.” A new stadium site won’t fly unless there's enough parking or ways for fans to get to a game. KPBS reporter Alison St John has more.
Qualcomm stadium has 16,000 parking spaces, but the team isn't looking for a huge lot like that. More than a quarter of fans already use the trolley to get to games.
Chargers spokesman Mark Fabiani says the proposed National City site presents the most challenging scenario for parking. Chula Vista's two sites are still being studied by a consultant. Oceanside officials have identified about 17,000 public parking spots in North County, including lots at Palomar College and Cal State San Marcos -- over ten miles away. Fabiani says Oceanside remains the best site as far as transport goes.
Fabiani : I think there's no question about that, both because of the availability of existing parking on a Sunday afternoon, and a confluence of rail lines in that area.
Fabiani says the team would have spent about $200 million on transport related upgrades at Qualcomm, and could invest that much or more in a future site. Alison St John, KPBS News.