Adios, New Orleans! Hola, San Diego!

Just because the New Orleans Saints are committed to playing the 2006 season in Louisiana doesn't mean San Antonio is out of the NFL business. Far from it. After averaging more than 62,000 fans in the Alamodome for three games with negligible promotional efforts, and corporate giants in town such as AT&T, Clear Channel and Toyota willing to pony up big bucks for sponsorships, it seems like a number of folks in the league are making goo-goo eyes at the Alamo City:

San Diego's fiscal and political uncertainty has prevented the Chargers from finding development partners for a new stadium and an adjacent residential and commercial project, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.

As a result, the team says it cannot meet a Feb.8 deadline to put a measure seeking approval for the stadium complex on the city's November ballot.

"I have followed those events with interest, but there has been no contact" between city officials and the Chargers, Hardberger said. "But that's as of today. It wouldn't surprise me if there weren't some conversation in 2006 with the Chargers."

If that is the case, the talks would need to be held secretly. Under terms of their lease agreement with the city of San Diego, the Chargers cannot explore relocation until Jan.1, 2007 and would be not be able to leave San Diego until after the 2008 season.

But city leaders are confident the Chargers are already exploring San Antonio as a relocation option, especially after the Saints averaged 62,666 fans for their Alamodome schedule.

I didn't want the Saints to move here. Swiping that team from flood-ravaged New Orleans would be in bad taste. But the Chargers are another matter. San Antonio's already got a world-class zoo and a SeaWorld, plus it seems like half the countryside surrounding the city is on fire at any given moment, so the Chargers should feel right at home! Don't believe me? Heck, even Jerry Magee of the San Diego Union-Tribune agrees:

San Antonio is New Orleans, without the sleaze. It isn't San Diego – no place is – but there are similarities, minus a whole lot of water. It is a big city with a small town's ambience and it would do very nicely, I am convinced, in the NFL.

An added bonus to any proposed move is the fact that the Charges have been known to win actual NFL games on occasion...

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