SAN DIEGO (KGTV)-- A SoccerCity developer unveiled a letter he claimed was sent to the National Football League that purports to show that San Diego State University lead negotiator Jack McGrory had a conflict of interest, an accusation the university and McGrory flatly deny.
Nick Stone, project manager for SoccerCity, said that McGrory has been working on his own development proposal for the Qualcomm Stadium site with developer "Papa" Doug Manchester, former owner of the San Diego Union-Tribune and recently nominated ambassador to the Bahamas, while at the same time working to kill the SoccerCity proposal and any agreement with SDSU.
Both the university and McGrory dismissed Stone's accusations.
The letter provided to 10News is dated March 13, 2017 and is written on Manchester Financial Group letterhead. It lists a "remarkable group of developers, architects and business leaders," who had developed a "viable masterplan." That list includes McGrory.
"I never saw Manchester's letter to the NFL or authorized him to use it," McGrory said in a statement. "I didn't sign it and I have no involvement in the NFL effort."
San Diego State University representative Gina Jacobs said the allegation is not an accurate portrayal of what happened.
"SDSU engaged in good faith negotiations with FS Investors for nearly two years. The fact that we only just formally ended negotiations speaks to our willingness and hopefulness that something would work out," Jacobs said in a statement.
The university pointed to discrepancies between verbal agreements and the legal document eventually created.
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Sandy Coronilla is a KGTV digital producer. Follow her @10NewsSandy
