SAN DIEGO ? On his HBO show "Any Given Wednesday" this week, host Bill Simmons devoted an entire segment to attacking Measure C, which if passed, would fund a Chargers stadium and Convention Center expansion in downtown San Diego.
Simmons called Chargers owner Dean Spanos a "spoiled rich guy" looking to take advantage of San Diegans.
Simmons argued against Spanos' statement that a downtown stadium would be a "regional asset," pointing out that last year, Qualcomm Stadium hosted only 10 NFL games and four concerts.
"There are very, very few things that you can get essentially all economists to agree with. And one of those very few things is that stadiums are not major drivers of economic activity," Holy Cross economist Victor Matheson told Simmons.
"The total number of full-time, year-round jobs generated by an NFL team, is roughly the same number of year-round jobs generated by a typical Walmart store," Matheson added.
Measure C would effectively raise the hotel tax in San Diego from 12.5 to 16.5 percent to help pay for the stadium. Simmons claimed San Diego has 100,000 fewer hotel rooms than Las Vegas -- which is making a play for the Oakland Raiders. That lack of rooms would severely curb the amount of money generated by the tax, Simmons believes.
Simmons also added that the Padres' home of Petco Park, which was peddled to voters as a tax-free stadium, may end up costing taxpayers $271 million.
Simmons' segment features skateboarder and San Diego native Tony Hawk rejecting Measure C.
"I love the Chargers, but if they go, we still have the beach, the zoo, Blink 182, Mexico, the sunshine, Nick Cannon, Comic-Con, and me, Tony Hawk, and I'm probably gonna live for 200 years. So on November 8th, vote 'No' on the Convadium," he said in the video.
WATCH the entire segment here:
