Sports at Lunch, Jim Steeg

Jim Steeg has a knot in his stomach as he prepares for his first full season with Chargers, having moved to San Diego from the NFL office in New York following 25 years of directing the Super Bowl.

But as Steeg told the gathering at the San Diego Hall of Champions for Sports at Lunch on Sept. 9 -- two days before the season opener against the Dallas Cowboys at Qualcomm Stadium – the sleepless nights aren’t over pressing matters such as the Chargers’ plans for a new stadium.

For the first time since he served in the front office with the Miami Dolphins in the 1970s, Steeg has a rooting interest with one NFL franchise. Steeg was named Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer in December by club President Dean Spanos.

“I’m having a hard time sleeping,” Steeg said. “It’s been 26 years since I worried about what is going to happen on Sunday morning.”

The Chargers’ franchise has turned around in the past year as the Bolts won the AFC West title in 2004. Steeg cited attendance of 35,000 fans at mini camp and training camp, 16,000 new season ticket holders, a 95-percent renewal (highs 80s is normal) and increased sales in the club seat and suite levels.

“Dean says over and over the most important thing is to have the people in the stands be our fans,” Steeg said. “There was too much of the Raiders coming to town and the fans being all Raiders fans. We’re making sure it’s a Chargers’ crowd.”

Steeg is leading the team’s efforts to gain approval from the public for a state-of-the art stadium that would be owned by the city of San Diego and serve as home to the Chargers, San Diego State football, the Holiday and Poinsettia bowls and possible future Super Bowls.

Although much of the off-the-field news over the Chargers concerns the stadium issues, Steeg also has set out to improve conditions at Qualcomm, where there is $50 million in deferred maintenance in the aging facility.

“We need to make the building better,” Steeg said. “We can’t overcome the $50-milion in deferred maintenance, but we can make it cleaner and better. A good analogy is Busch Stadium in St. Louis. They’re building a new stadium in the parking lot, but they’re maintaining the old stadium. We want to do the same thing here.”

Steeg said the Chargers are seeking a development partner so plans for a $400 million stadium to be built in Mission Valley on the Qualcomm site can be placed on the ballot in 2006. The Chargers want to build residential and retail neighborhoods that would generate tax revenue to fund the new stadium, replacing an old stadium that is a drain on the city treasury.

“We have a plan for a new stadium that solves community issues on an environmental front, solves logistical problems with road infrastructure on Friars Road and solves financial problems between debt and fiscal problems with a positive cash flow,” he said. “But we need leadership and partnership to make it work.”

After 25 years of running the Super Bowl, Steeg said he’s looking forward to having a rooting interest at the Super Bowl on Feb. 5 in Detroit. The Chargers are among the favorites to advance to the NFL’s championship game.

“When I took this job, a writer was so impressed with the way the organization has the pieces falling into place that he told me that it looks like the Chargers could become the Patriots of the West,” Steeg said. “That’s what we’re striving to be. Look at where the Patriots were six years ago and where they are now. That’s what we want to be.”

Steeg also told some humorous anecdotes about problems that arise while putting on a Super Bowl. They ranged from Washington Redskins coach Joe Gibbs to construction of the San Diego Trolley causing draining problems before the Super Bowl at Qualcomm to John Madden getting stuck in an elevator. What were the stories? You should have been at Sports at Lunch.