Many Charger season tickets bought in North County

While the San Diego Chargers are considering moving to Oceanside, more than 8,800 of the team's season ticket holders already come from North County, according to statistics that the team provided the North County Times.

A breakdown shows that about 20,000 of the NFL team's season ticket holders are from the city of San Diego, 4,300 are from the South Bay, 7,400 are from East County, 8,500 are from Orange and Riverside counties, and 4,500 come from outside the state. The rest of the team's ticket holders come from other counties in the state.

The Chargers have said that Oceanside could be an appealing new home because of the team's strong fan base in North County and because of the proximity to Orange, Riverside and Los Angeles counties.

The ticket statistics in all likelihood reflect inflated numbers of season ticket holders from the city of San Diego and underestimate the numbers of ticket holders from North County, said Mark Fabiani, the team's lead negotiator on stadium issues.

Fabiani said that's because the statistics are based on the addresses of ticket holder accounts and that many fans have tickets sent to their offices or go through brokers based in San Diego.

For example, some North County and South Bay residents probably have tickets sent to their offices in Carmel Valley or La Jolla, inflating season ticket numbers for the city of San Diego.

"There is no question the number of tickets from North County would be higher," Fabiani said.

He said the team will have consultants analyze the location of its season ticket holders before moving the team to another city. Chargers officials have said they want to leave aging Qualcomm Stadium in Mission Valley within the next decade for a state-of-the-art facility that could generate more money.

Team officials have said they want to stay in San Diego County and have identified Chula Vista, National City and an approximately 70-acre, city-owned golf course in Oceanside as potential homes.

Fabiani said that no matter where the team moves, it expects to gain some fans and lose others.

But he said, the goal is to build a stadium "within easy striking distance of major population centers."

"I clearly think this is the case with Oceanside," he added.

About 1,000 tickets come from Oceanside, and about 1,500 come from Carlsbad, according to the statistics.

The figures show there are about 6,000 ticket holders in the heart of North County ---- Oceanside, Carlsbad, Vista, San Marco, Escondido and Encinitas. In the South Bay, there are 2,800 ticket holders in Chula Vista, 370 in National City and 200 in Imperial Beach.

About 25 percent of the team's total season tickets come from outside the county, and 7 percent come from outside the state.

The team's statistics show that 4,200 season ticket holders are in Orange County, another 4,200 ticket holders are in Riverside County, and 3,500 ticket holders are from Los Angeles.

Fabiani said team officials haven't tracked the location of ticket holders in previous years, but that they believe the number of ticket holders from counties to the north are growing based on anecdotal evidence.

He said the team is receiving more media coverage in counties to the north than in previous years, and that trains from Orange, Riverside and Los Angeles counties are packed on game days.

Most of the 4,500 season ticket holders outside of California come from the Las Vegas and Phoenix areas, Fabiani said.

"It appears we are winning over more fans," he said.

Fabiani said the team is selling about 30 season tickets a day, and that the number of season tickets sold has increased from 34,000 in 2004 to more than 62,000 today. He said the team has about 4,000 more tickets to sell.

Season tickets for eight regular season games and two preseason games range from $450 for a seat at the top of the stadium to $810 for a seat near midfield in the lower levels.

Fabiani said the team's ticket prices are comparable to others around the National Football League.

The Denver Broncos, an AFC West rival of the Chargers, have season tickets ranging from $390 to $1,000. But there is a waiting list of 24,000 for season tickets, with an estimated waiting time of seven to 10 years, according to the ticket office.

The team has ticket holders from every state, and many fans travel from Utah, New Mexico, South Dakota and Nebraska, said Kirk Dyer, the Broncos' executive director of ticket operations and administration.

He said a majority of the fan base probably comes from the Denver area, but that probably 10 percent to 15 percent come from outside of the state.

San Francisco 49ers officials said Wednesday that about 20 percent of the team's season ticket holders come from at least 70 miles away from the stadium, and less than 10 percent come from the city of San Francisco. The 49ers season tickets range from $250 a seat to $490 a seat.

The Seattle Seahawks said they haven't set the price for tickets next season, but last year, a season tickets ranged from $290 to $700.

Chuck Arnold, the team's director of ticket sales, said many fans come from Canada, Idaho, Oregon, and even Alaska to see the Seahawks, viewed by many as a regional team for the Pacific Northwest.

In contrast, between 85 percent to 90 percent of Jacksonville Jaguars' season ticket holders come from the five counties around the northeast Florida city, said Scott Loft, the executive director of sales and marketing. He said there are three teams in Florida and one in Georgia, all within a 10-hour drive.