SAN DIEGO -- The San Diego City Council voted Tuesday to give its Citizens' Task Force on Chargers Issues more time to complete its work.

Discussion

SOUND OFF Are The Chargers Important To San Diego?

The task force is charged with finding a feasible and publicly acceptable way to keep the team in town.

The council voted 9-0 to give the task force until Feb. 28 to make its recommendation, then until March 6 to issue a written report.

Chairman David Watson said the task force needs a few more weeks more than originally contemplated because the Chargers were slow to provide information the panel needed.

"We have dramatically compressed our schedule to accommodate the month-long delay in getting information from the Chargers," Watson said.

He said the task force would have needed even more time, but has been begun meeting at least once a week.

Mayor Dick Murphy said having the written report issued by March 6 should enable him to put a hearing on the task force's product on the March 18 City Council agenda.

The Chargers are seeking a new stadium.

A clause in the team's 1995 contract with the city allows it to seek a new deal in San Diego, then negotiate with other cities.

The so-called trigger clause -- which the team can assert under certain financial conditions related to the NFL salary cap -- was recently postponed, and opens up March 1.

San Diego would have a chance to match any other city's offer.