San Diego Chargers stadium vote fails

San Diego rejected a measure that would have been a stepping stone to building a new $1.8 billion NFL stadium for the Chargers.

The residents of San Diego rejected a measure that would have been a stepping stone to building a new $1.8 billion NFL stadium and convention center for the Chargers.

Voters were asked to vote on Ballot Measure C, an initiative that called for citizens to approve a hotel room tax that would pay for the majority of the stadium. The measure had 43.04% approval, falling well short of the required two-thirds vote needed to approve the project.

Another proposal, Measure D, would have also raised hotel taxes but not used public money to build a stadium. It also failed, with 60% of voters rejecting the measure.

"In terms of what comes next for the Chargers, it’s just too early to give you an answer. We are going to diligently explore and weigh our options, and do what is needed to maintain our options, but no decision will be announced until after the football season concludes and no decision will be made in haste," Chargers chairman Dean Spanos said in a statement.

The outpouring of support from friends like you, and so many others, has been heartwarming throughout the campaign and I will continue to be mindful of that in the weeks ahead."

The Chargers' options are now limited. They could try again to get a stadium built or move north to Los Angeles to be a co-tenant of a stadium with the Los Angeles Rams.

That $2.6 billion stadium in Inglewood is slated to open before the 2019 season.

The Chargers have played in Qualcomm Stadium, one of the oldest stadiums in the NFL, since the 1967 season.

When the NFL approved for the Rams to move to Los Angeles from St. Louis, the league gave the Chargers a one-year option to also move. That option expires Jan. 15, but there is a clause allowing an extension of the option through January 2018.

The Chargers had a backup plan when the Carson City Council unanimously approved a $1.7 billion stadium plan that was to be shared with the Oakland Raiders.

Those plans fell through with the Rams' move and the Raiders seemingly setting their sights on Las Vegas should a new stadium not be built in Oakland.

– Scooby Axson