San Diego mayor, Chargers owner meet to talk stadium plans

LOS ANGELES - San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer and Chargers chairman Dean Spanos met on Sunday and afterward announced that a mayor's advisory committee will speed up its work and present a stadium plan to the team within three months that could keep it from moving to the Los Angeles area.

The one-hour morning meeting at the Padres' Petco Park came after a surprise announcement last week that the Chargers and Oakland Raiders are planning a joint stadium in Carson outside Los Angeles if they fail to get stadium deals in their hometowns.

Both sides said the plan to spur on the work of the city advisory committee is a step forward toward reaching a deal.

Faulconer said he's committed to keeping the team but equally devoted to the city's financial standing.

''Like thousands of San Diegans, I want the Chargers to stay in our city for generations to come,'' the mayor said in a statement. ''I explained to Mr. Spanos that we are going to work to keep the team here, but I will never support a deal that San Diego can't afford.''

A Chargers statement on the meeting said that the team also remains ''committed to finding a publicly acceptable stadium solution here in San Diego,'' but it emphasized that the team ''must create other options for itself in the event that an agreement is not reached.''

The Chargers have sought to replace the nearly 50-year-old Qualcomm Stadium that now stands among the NFL's oldest as other West Coast teams like the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers see sparkling new facilities.

They have struggled with a City Hall that has been reluctant to part with public money for a new home.