The mayor of National City sent letters last week to cities and officials around the county in hopes of garnering regional support to put a new stadium for the Chargers on the South Bay city's waterfront.

"We're seeing it as a real regional project," Mayor Ron Morrison explained.

On Feb. 1, Morrison sent letters to San Diego State University President Stephen Weber, San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders, San Diego City Council President Scott Peters, San Diego County Supervisor Ron Roberts and the city of Chula Vista asking them to lend any kind of support they can.

Morrison said he has yet to receive any formal feedback and didn't expect to begin to hear anything until the end of this week.

In the letters, he asks for the municipalities and organizations to assist in some way in the form of land, financial support, outreach to the financial community or ideas.

"The successful development of a new stadium will require the participation of many individuals and entities in addition to National City and the Port District," Morrison wrote.

"Our partners in this project will include potential tenants of the stadium, such as the San Diego Chargers, San Diego State Aztecs and the San Diego Bowl Game Association."

The letters also indicate: "A major challenge for this project, however, will be identifying the funding sources for construction of the new facility and its related infrastructure. … (F)ollowing on Petco Park's success in stimulating revenue-producing development, National City envisions that perhaps in partnership with other tenants of the facility, to fully fund construction of the stadium in return for participation in those opportunities."

Morrison said he sent a letter to Chula Vista, even though some people view the two cities as competing to host the team's new stadium, because National City is looking at the matter as something that affects the entire South Bay area and can benefit the county's southern region.

National City mentioned advantages include its waterfront's proximity to several major freeways, mass transportation and tourist attractions like downtown San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter.

In a telephone interview, Morrison also said by putting the stadium on the waterfront in National City, there will be little disruption to local neighborhoods and businesses.

"The timing for the study of the National City site is also fortuitous, as the Port District is looking to review land uses in the area with a view to updating its Master Plan," Morrison wrote in the letters.

After the city of San Diego made it clear to the team that it cannot afford to renovate or rebuild Qualcomm Stadium -- the team's current home in Mission Valley -- the Chargers organization developed a plan to privately finance a stadium, a first in the NFL. The team said it encountered trouble finding investors to help it with the Qualcomm site; thus, San Diego City Council agreed to amend the team's lease so it could look at other sites in the county, leaving the city but remaining a regional asset.

At this stage, National City, Chula Vista and Oceanside have emerged as the most likely contenders. Mark Fabiani, Chargers' general counsel who has acted as an organization spokesman, recently said the team wants to find a location by the end of 2007.

Fabiani said the team supports National City's decision to solicit help around the region.

"We're gratified that National City has, from the beginning, led the way toward finding a regional solution," Fabiani added, "and we intend to support National City's efforts in every way possible."