After 56 seasons of playing professional football in San Diego, the Chargers made a rash decision to move to Los Angeles, leaving behind thousands’ of broken hearted fans and millions of dollars in debt. If you live in San Diego, you could be paying a heavy price for their move. That’s right, not just the city, but you as an individual — if you live in San Diego you may also pay a heavy price and we will explain why.
San Diego Debt Statistics As of 2017:
—>>> San Diego owes more than it owns. The city doesn’t have enough assets ($2.4 billion of total assets) to cover its debt ($3.6 billion of total debt).
—>>> San Diego’s Taxpayer Burden™ ranks 16th out of the 50 most populated cities in the United States. To fill the $1.2 billion financial hole — each San Diego taxpayer would have to send $2,900 to the city.
What portion of this debt is related to the Chargers moving to Los Angeles?
The biggest expense incurred by San Diego came from the note on the Qualcomm Stadium expansion and creation of Chargers Park on behalf of Team Spanos (the president and CEO of the Chargers) and the NFL.
San Diego taxpayers will continue paying taxes on this note for many years ahead.
How much does the city owe on stadium debt between now and 2027?
As of August 9th, 2017, over $45 million ($45,096,911) is owed by the City of San Diego on the Charger’s stadium debt.
According to the San Diego Union Tribune, to help pay this debt back, Team Spanos paid the city $12.6 million as a “termination fee”, but even after that — the remaining balance is still over $32 million.
The following figures illustrate a breakdown of San Diego’s total debt incurred by the Charger’s stadium and the “pay-back term”.
- 2018; $4,755,491
- 2019: $4,744,213
- 2020: $6,479,050
- 2021: $3,024,338
- 2022: $4,749,950
- 2023: $4,751,619
- 2024: $4,752,919
- 2025: $4,748,456
- 2026: $7,090,875
Total Debt = $45,096,911
This debt won’t get paid off until 2027, so you — the tax payers’ — will be the true victims.
And it doesn’t stop here…
…As if this remaining balance of $32+ million isn’t enough, the amount of debt rises even further if you look at these additional losses that can’t be calculated to the exact number at this time.
Additional losses Include:
- 1,600 jobs in San Diego are projected to be lost.
- The unemployment rate could increase by 0.1 percent.
- The impact on local labor income is estimated to total about $67 million annually.
- Lost revenue from when fans visit San Diego and go shopping in the City
Who is Responsible for Paying all this Debt?
In the end, people who live in San Diego – the taxpayers – WE lose. Keep in mind, the figures mentioned in this article are only estimates.
There is good news for San Diego residents…
If you are struggling with debt…
… San Diego, debt relief, settlement and consolidation options are available at Golden Financial Services — to help resolve student loans, credit card debt and unsecured debt.
Sources:
10 News, http://www.10news.com/news/usd-study-shows-economic-impact-of-chargers-move August 9th, 2017
State Data Lab, http://www.statedatalab.org/state_data_and_comparisons/city/sandiego, August 9th, 2017
