Let’s talk about the Chargers. Within the past two years there has been a lot of commotion about San Diego’s football team. In 2015 San Diegans were led to believe that Chargers were turning their backs and heading up to Los Angeles, that was until the Rams came along. Now here we are in the 2016 still wondering if the Chargers are going to leave San Diego. Results came out from the Nov. 8 election and San Diego voted against Measure C, which was supposed to keep the Chargers and provide them with a new stadium in Downtown.

Measure C planned to increase hotel taxes by 6 percent in order to raise funds for a new professional football stadium without the money coming directly out of the taxpayers pocket. The grand total of this project was estimated at $1.8 billion. It was estimated that increase from 10.5 percent to 16.5 percent in hotel tax fees would generate about $120 million annually. Together the NFL and Chargers were supposed to put $650 million into the new stadium and sign a lease for 30 years. However since the ballot was under a 50 percent approval rating, it is possible San Diego may lose the Chargers in the upcoming year to Los Angeles.

Although some beloved fans may be sadden by the news, it is actually better that the result ended this way. Measure C had a lot of problems built within it. For one, traffic in downtown is already hectic and Measure C did not offer to solve any of those problems, just add to it. The project didn’t call for any parking spaces meaning the San Diego taxpayer would of had to pay for parking in the area to reduce traffic. Much different compared to Qualcomm. This would have completely eliminated tailgating, since there wouldn’t be a place for it.  Also, the stadium had potential hidden public transportation fees. A trolley station update would have been needed  along with new bus stops. With that being said, someone was going to end up paying these fees and it wasn’t going to come from the hotel tax.

Another reason it is great that the project did not pass is because there was already questions as to whether or not the hotels were really going to be able to completely pay for the stadium or not. The City’s Independent Budget Analyst found that low hotel revenue could  have caused the city to pull funds from other departments like public safety to pay back the debt. Also, large conventions like Comic Con were against Measure C because there was the chance that it would negatively affect the tourist population. Convention declines would have lowered tourism altogether and the city already depends on that money  for other services. There was also speculation that the money made within the 30 year time span would not be enough to cover the cost of the stadium.

The idea of raising hotel tax by about $1 billion to fund a stadium was extremely unpopular among San Diegans. That money could have so many different uses in our city. After school programs, roads repairs, and more 911 dispatchers are all options that could benefit the city with the money from Measure C. Voting no on Measure C was not about being unloyal to the Chargers, but about choosing what was best for our city.