The San Diego Chargers (an American football team... yes, *real* football) have announced that beginning next year, they will hold their training camps in a new $120 million sports complex being built on the CSUDH campus. http://www.chargers.com/news/headline_detail.cfm?news_key=711 The rather controversial project is privately funded and will occupy 85 acres of university owned land that is currently more or less vacant. The developer is billionaire Philip Anschutz, who through his Anschutz Entertainment Group owns most of the teams in Major League Soccer. Part of the project is a 27,000 seat stadium that will house his LA Galaxy soccer team, plus facilities that he hopes to use to lure the US Soccer Federation to move their headquarters to CSUDH. If that happens, I guess the US World Cup teams might train there too. This will certainly raise CSUDH's profile tremendously. Unfortunately it has little to do with academics (except PE), and could very well turn out to be the tail that wagged the dog. But, as we all know, hosting big time sports has put other schools on the map. At the least, a lot more people will hear about the school, and that alone will make it more significant in the general public's eyes. As somebody once said, "There is no such thing as bad publicity".
There is also buzz around the league that the San Diego Chargers will be bought and moved back to Los Angeles. (L.A. lost its football teams 7 years ago when the Raiders returned to Oakland and the Rams continued their jouney to St. Louis. They'd begun their NFL existence as the Cleveland Rams.) I say "back" to L.A. because that Chargers played their first year there (in the AFL in 1960) before their owner, Connie Hilton--yes, that Hilton--moved them to San Diego. I'm in favor of the move, but only if they take the Padres with them! A San Diego native.
It should be noted that Nova houses the spring training camp for the Miami Dolphins. WHo knows we may someday be able to have the DLFL. John
I just hope for the sake of DL that CSUDH fares better than the Chargers have the last few seasons. Bruce
So, this is how New Englanders act when they finally win the big one? (Just for the record, I'm a Red Sox fan who moved to New England in April 1978, just in time for the August swoon that saw them fall from 14 games up to a tie, causing a playoff on the last day against the Yankees. Bucky Dent....oh, I just can't go on. The pain, the pain....
Bruce is a Boston police officer. Well. I think that some *very strange* things have been happening back there! I'd like to make a report! First, the Patriots win the Superbowl! (Yeah, right.) Then the Red Sox (the *Red Sox*!!) have the best record in major league baseball, even blowing the chewing tobacco out of the mighty Yankees. Those holey Sox haven't even lost ten games yet. And do the police investigate? Noooo.... It just isn't right.
Well, even though I am from Texas and am a HUGE (and I do mean HUGE) Dallas Cowboys fan, I have always liked the Patriots. I think it was because I really liked their old uniforms. The new ones just aren't as cool... but if the Cowboys can't win the big one (and lately they can't) then I am happy it is the Patriots. As to the original reason for this thread - Do you think that LA might be the first city to try to keep an NFL team from coming? I mean come on - would you want the Chargers??? clint
