Carson launches petition drive for Chargers Stadium

SAN DIEGO (KUSI) – While members of the Stadium task force were announcing their decision about Mission Valley, about 100 miles to the North, supporters of building a joint Chargers/Raiders stadium were in motion too. They were launching the petition drive that’s the, “first step to making a stadium in Carson, California a reality.”

They have the money. They’ve got the real estate.

But now, the supporters of the stadium plan in Carson need signatures, 8, 041 to be exact.

Less than a month ago came the startling news that a group called “Carson 2-Gether” was working with the Chargers to build a joint-use stadium with the Oakland Raiders in a city that most San Diegans had only seen in passing while zooming up the 405 to Los Angeles.

Right now, the focus is on convincing the community that this is a good project in their community benefit.

In the months to come, Carson 2-Gether will have to convince residents to sign these petitions to build the 70,000 seat stadium.

Residents aren’t being asked for more tax dollars. They’re being asked to endorse something else.

The financing for the $1.7 billion project is already in the works. The Wall Street firm, Goldman Sachs is going to pay for construction costs with the return on their investment from future development around the stadium.

In the meantime, the people trying to collect those petition signatures are hitting the streets and some of them are getting paid for their efforts.

Mark Fabiani, who speaks for the Chargers, was more direct.

There are other factors at play. One of them is the influence of labor unions.

Union leaders are raising concerns about the proposed stadium project in Inglewood.

But labor groups have already been assured they’ll be building the stadium in Carson.

It’s hard to say which stadium plan will eclipse the others, but for now, it’s a race to gain the inside track.

Although both the Chargers and the Raiders say they will be exploring stadium options in their home cities, the Chargers have made one significant commitment to Carson.

They have a deal to buy the land, a deal that’s scheduled to close at the end of this month.