SD Chamber of Commerce Supports Chargers' Stadium Plan

I've got to admit, this caught me completely by surprise.

Given the objections raised by other members of San Diego's political and tourism establishment, I figured the odds of the Chargers gaining traction with significant parts of the business and political community were slim.

I thought wrong.

The San Diego Chamber of Commerce has voted to support the Chargers Stadium Plan. According to the media announcement, there will be a press conference at Chargers Park at 11:00 AM today where they will formally announce their support for the project.

It's important to note that former San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders is the current president and CEO of the Chamber. Further (in an interesting twist), former CSAG member and Faulconer Chief of Staff Aimee Faucett is the current Executive Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer of the Chamber.

A.G. Spanos and Joe Terzi (President and CEO of the San Diego Tourism Authority - and a staunch critic of the plan) are also on the Chamber's Board of Directors.

Here's the Chamber's press release announcing their support:

Chamber Board just voted to support @Chargers Initiative. Press conf at 11 at #Chargers Park https://t.co/f4NjcNACHs pic.twitter.com/o0AXZWNrmA

— San Diego Chamber (@SDChamber) July 28, 2016

Of course, we have the obligatory opposition:

Our response to @SDChamber's endorsement of stadium tax: "This was based on a relationship not a policy discussion." https://t.co/CwJw08wXqV

— No Downtown Stadium (@NoDTStadium) July 28, 2016

If anything interesting comes from the news conference, this post will be updated accordingly.

Just when you think things can't get more convoluted in this story...

Update: Here's an interview by Darren Smith of Mighty 1090 with Sanders regarding the Chambers decision to support the Chargers' plan.