If the San Diego Chargers want to relocate in Oceanside, they face an opponent in Councilwoman Esther Sanchez.

Sanchez was one of the biggest boosters when the Chargers started talking to Oceanside officials last year about building a football stadium on the city's 70-acre Center City Golf Course site.

But she said yesterday that her enthusiasm evaporated at a City Council meeting Wednesday night, when the council majority approved a hotel and restaurant project on the north shore of Buena Vista Lagoon. About 140 packed the council chambers for the three-hour hearing, many opposed to the project out of concern for the impact on the lagoon.

The development is unrelated to a Chargers' stadium. Still, the vote showed her the council majority doesn't want to listen to residents and shouldn't negotiate something so complicated as a deal with the Chargers, Sanchez said.

"They're out of their league," she said of her council colleagues.

Mark Fabiani, the team's general counsel, said yesterday, "The Chargers are going to continue to work hard to win Councilwoman Sanchez's support for a potential project."

"As the Chargers decide whether to move forward in Oceanside, we will of course carefully evaluate our chances at the ballot box," Fabiani said. "And potential opposition by elected officials will be an important part of that evaluation."

Oceanside residents would vote on the issue because the Center City Golf Course, northeast of Interstate 5 and Oceanside Boulevard, is public park land. City law requires a ballot before it can be given up.

Mayor Jim Wood said yesterday that he doesn't believe Sanchez's opposition will faze the Chargers.

The team is represented by astute businessmen who will make their determinations based on other factors, Wood said. The final decision would be up to the voters anyway, he added.

Wood voted with Sanchez against the hotel project but saw no connection.

Councilman Jack Feller said Sanchez was acting precipitously in turning against the Chargers deal, and should at least wait to see how it took shape.

"She's throwing the baby out with the bath water, and she hasn't even scrubbed the baby yet," Feller said.

Councilman Rocky Chavez said he's not specifically on board with bringing a stadium to the city - that all he's agreed to do so far is listen. He made that commitment months ago, when Sanchez proposed talking to the Chargers about relocating to the golf course, he said.

In addition to ongoing talks with Oceanside, the Chargers are negotiating with National City and Chula Vista for a site to replace Qualcomm Stadium in Mission Valley.