Special Report: Location key to San Diego State with potential new stadium

San Diego State would love to share a new state-of-the-art football facility with the Chargers, but being far from campus could pose a problem. For the Aztecs, football real estate is all about ...

Location, location, location

No matter how San Diego State fares on the football field this fall, the most significant development regarding the school's program might come after the season. And it won't involve anything the Aztecs do.

San Diego State is joined at the hip with the Chargers in the professional entity's quest for a new football facility to replace aging Qualcomm Stadium. How it all plays out will leave the Aztecs in either good shape or scramble mode.

The Chargers are at an impasse with the city of San Diego after a pitch to build a new stadium on the Qualcomm site fell short. The team can begin talking to cities outside the county on Jan. 1 about a possible relocation.

If the Chargers were to accept another city's offer and ultimately leave town --- the earliest the team can vacate Qualcomm Stadium is after the 2008 season --- the Aztecs eventually will need a new place to play.

But if the Chargers remain in San Diego and get the new stadium they crave, the Aztecs may find themselves playing in a brand new state-of-the-art football-only facility.

But there is a catch --- a very big one.

To fully work for San Diego State , a new stadium needs to be located at least remotely close to Montezuma Mesa.

Athletic director Jeff Schemmel's preference is for a new stadium to be built on the existing Qualcomm site, and he has expressed that sentiment to Chargers president Dean Spanos. Rebuilding in Mission Valley would keep the stadium within a long LaDainian Tomlinson run of the San Diego State campus.

A decision to relocate to Chula Vista would prompt concern. But worse, much worse, in the eyes of San Diego State , would be a move to Oceanside , located nearly 40 miles northwest of campus.

"This is no surprise to anybody that the farther away from campus we get, the less we like it," Schemmel said recently. "Obviously, our No. 1 choice is for them to build that new stadium right where the old one stands.

"I think everyone kind of agrees that's the perfect location. Dean doesn't even argue with that. He likes that location too.

"It obviously hasn't worked, and they've tried hard to put a plan together to make it work. You can't hold anything against the Chargers for looking at other sites, particularly other county sites."

Hitting the road

Distance from campus doesn't have to represent a downer for a college football program.

The majority of NCAA Division I-A programs play their home games on campus and the ones who don't play on university soil usually play somewhere in close proximity to campus. However, a few universities have thrived despite taking the highway route.

UCLA is about to embark on its 25th consecutive season of playing home games at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena despite the venue being 25 miles from its campus in Westwood. Factor in routinely heavy Los Angeles-area traffic snarls, and it's clear that many Bruins fans spend a lot of time in their vehicles commuting to games.

The University of Connecticut is located off the beaten path in Storrs . But instead of playing on campus in a remote setting, the Huskies in 2003 moved into brand new Rentschler Field in East Hartford, about 25 miles to the west. Hartford , the capital and second largest city in Connecticut , is centrally located and near several freeways and major routes. In a state of just 3.5 million residents, UConn has routinely filled its 40,000-seat stadium over the past three seasons.

If the Chargers were to relocate to Chula Vista , the distance from campus to a football game would be slightly less than the situations UCLA and UConn have embraced.

So what would be so bad about such a trek for the Aztecs?

"Our students are so important to us, and the farther away we get from campus, the less likely it is that they are going to make their way to that stadium," Schemmel said. "For that reason, we're really interested in staying as close to campus as we can."

Of course, with no winning seasons to boast about since 1998, San Diego State students haven't been all that interested in making the short commute to Qualcomm either. It remains to be seen whether new coach Chuck Long can energize a county that has grown apathetic to the program since Marshall Faulk's departure in 1993.

Mountain West Conference commissioner Craig Thompson agrees with Schemmel's belief the students' needs have to be of utmost importance. But he also cites the possibility of attracting new patrons.

"There are all sorts of way to look at it," Thompson said. "Let's say you go to Chula Vista or someplace else that's 20-miles plus from campus.

"Though you lose, ostensibly, thousands of students, you might gain thousands of other alumni or fans who might say, 'You know, I really don't want to drive to Qualcomm.' Twenty miles can cut both ways."

The bowl business

Another person anxiously awaiting a resolution on the stadium issue is Bruce Binkowski, the executive director of the Holiday and Poinsettia Bowls.

The future of the two college bowl games hinges on what transpires between the Chargers and civic leaders, but bowl game officials aren't among the parties at the negotiating table.

"We're just on the sidelines supporting the Chargers and waiting to see what happens," Binkowski said.

"Obviously, we need a place to play, so that's a concern to us."

The Holiday Bowl has drawn more than 60,000 fans six times in the past eight years and has gained a reputation as one of the nation's top non-January bowl games. The game has paired teams from the Big 12 and Pac-10 for the past eight years, and its payout per team has topped $2 million in each of the past six years.

The Poinsettia Bowl will be played for the second time this December. The game features a Mountain West team against an at-large opponent.

Binkowski said it is way too early in the process to get worked up or speculate over what may or may not happen. That said, he knows the future of the bowl games would be bleak if the Chargers left town and Qualcomm Stadium was eventually leveled.

"Certainly, it would put the bowls at risk," Binkowski said. "Again, we have to look back to 'We need a place to play' as everybody else does."

In terms of the bowls, location isn't an issue. All that matters is having a suitably sized stadium.

"A new stadium would benefit everybody," Binkowski said. "I don't care where it is. I think it would be great for the entire region. A new stadium, wherever, would be great.

"Location, to me, isn't a concern. Chula Vista , National City , Oceanside , Qualcomm Stadium, wherever. I just think it would be great for the community if the Chargers can get this done."

On the horizon

Fast forward to January, a time when the community will either be celebrating a Chargers' playoff appearance or vehemently criticizing the organization's decision to jettison Drew Brees in favor of Philip Rivers. Perhaps there will even be a buzz over the Aztecs if Long should guide the program to a rare bowl appearance.

Regardless, there are a lot of people pointing at the first day of 2007, that fateful day when the Chargers can begin fielding inquiries from other cities.

"I think everyone's looking forward to Jan. 1, where they have the freedom to talk to other people," Schemmel said. "I suspect things will happen quickly after that. I think people who have ideas on other locations --- whether that's other cities or places in the county --- are gearing up for that. I think the Chargers will be anxious to talk on Jan. 1."

In the meantime, Schemmel continues to be proactive.

He recently met with San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders and was encouraged by Sanders' interest in finding a solution. He also recently met with Spanos, Chargers Chief Operating Officer Jim Steeg and County Supervisor Ron Roberts.

Schemmel says the Chargers have kept him informed of developments and have been responsive to the school's situation. But it remains to be seen how much weight the Chargers will give to the Aztecs' preference for remaining close to campus if the team's best option is something not near San Diego State .

"The Chargers have always viewed San Diego State as an essential partner in this stadium process, and that is one of the reasons why the Chargers spent almost four years and millions of dollars promoting the Qualcomm redevelopment plan," said Mark Fabiani, Chargers' special counsel to the president. "But the city of San Diego 's perilous financial and political situation prevented the Qualcomm idea from moving forward, and now we have no choice but to look at other alternatives.

"No matter where in San Diego County we locate a new stadium, however, we hope that San Diego State will be a key tenant.

"We remain open-minded about sites within the city of San Diego that are closer to State's campus, although we all must be realistic about the city's limitations in helping to make any such project a reality within the City."

Read between the lines of Fabiani's call to be realistic and one might come to this assumption: The Chargers will do what's best for them and if it also works out for the Aztecs, then that's great. But if the Aztecs have to improvise to find a new home, so be it.

It comes with the territory of playing second fiddle.

-- Contact staff writer Mike Sullivan at (760) 739-6645 or msullivan@nctimes.com .