SAN DIEGO -- The San Diego Chargers are reporting that they are eager to renegotiate their lease on Qualcomm Stadium and claim they are willing to get rid of the controversial ticket guarantee to achieve that goal.

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Even though the team is winning this season, Chargers officials told 10News that they know their lease on the stadium is a public relations loser.

San Diegans are angry about having to shell out millions of dollars to buy unsold seats as part of the ticket guarantee.

Frustration over the guarantee has increased over the past several weeks after it was first revealed that the Chargers charged the city for tickets, despite having told fans that a game was a sellout. And earlier this week, allegations were made that the Chargers are billing the city for seats that don't even exist.

Last summer, the Chargers hired Mark Fabiani, a public relations specialist, who pitched a proposal to City Hall.

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City Leaders Don't Want Another Bad Deal

"Our idea was to sweep away the ticket guarantee and the things the public doesn't like, and work with the city on a ballot measure for 2004," Fabiani told 10News.

He said the Chargers have offered to pay a fixed rent and work with the city on a new stadium -- with the approval of the voters.

But San Diego Mayor Dick Murphy said that wasn't the deal his staff heard last summer.

Murphy termed it a "ridiculously bad deal," and besides, he said, the city should wait for its Citizens' Task Force on Chargers Issues to make a recommendation.

He said the team had approached his chief of staff "and suggested they might discuss doing away with the ticket guarantee if, one, we would give them essentially free rent, and we would allow them to leave town."

"That is not only a terrible deal for the city, it violates our intention to have this all done publicly at the task force," Murphy added. "I was particularly miffed at their claim that they were willing to forego the ticket guarantee, which was a totally misleading statement on their part."

He said the task force should be given time to complete its work. The task force is charged with finding a way to keep the team in town in a way the public will find acceptable.

He said he wasn't willing to make the "dramatic concessions" the Chargers would demand to discard the ticket guarantee, under which the city assures the Chargers attendance of 60,000. That has cost San Diego more than $5.6 million so far this season.

Murphy and City Council members have long expressed frustration with the deal, and have placed the blame squarely on the shoulders of former Mayor Susan Golding.

"I suppose you ought not to blame the Chargers for a deal negotiated by an incompetent mayor and City Council," Murphy said. "But the Chargers should understand what an unfair deal it is, and be willing to walk away from that."

Meanwhile, Murphy said Friday that the city shouldn't pay for the so-called "phantom seats" at Qualcomm Stadium under the Chargers ticket guarantee, and accused the team of making misleading statements.

The team agreed to stop billing the city for the seats, which were removed from the stadium to settle an earlier Americans with Disabilities Act lawsuit. The team proposed settling the issue with the city after the season ends.

"It's about time," Murphy said. "I don't believe we owe them money for those phantom seats. It's nice of them to offer to delay payment, but we weren't going to pay them anyway."

Ken Derrett, marketing chief for the Chargers, said the team was eliminating the issue for the rest of the season as a good-faith gesture, "because we want fans to enjoy the great season that the team is having."

Derrett said that with the team's winning record, it is likely to pay more in rent this season than the city pays under the ticket guarantee.

The controversy comes at a pivotal time, as the Chargers are nearing a window during which they can trigger a renegotiation period.

The team is seeking a new stadium in San Diego. If the Chargers trigger the renegotiation, but do not come to terms the team finds favorable in San Diego, the team can be shopped to other cities.

"I've always believed that it would be preferable for the Chargers to stay in San Diego," Murphy said. "I've always had reservations about how much, if any, public money should be spent to do that."

The "phantom seats" stem from $5 million in modifications made to Qualcomm Stadium to provide access for the disabled, resulting in the elimination of more than 650 seats. Spaces are reserved for the disabled.

The mayor and City Council only learned of the phantom seats in the last two weeks, Murphy said. He was critical of city staff for not keeping a better accounting of the seats.

"On an issue as sensitive as the Chargers and the ticket guarantee, the council likes to stay informed," he said.