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Chargers accused of sabotaging new stadium negotiations

The Chargers and local and county officials are scheduled to meet again Monday to continue working on a potential financing plan for a new stadium, but some believe the Chargers are sabotaging the ...
SAN DIEGO (CBS 8) - The Chargers and local and county officials are scheduled to meet again Monday to continue working on a potential financing plan for a new stadium, but some believe the Chargers are sabotaging the deal.

The Chargers have been trying to get a new stadium deal for years, but the team and city are still not close to agreeing on a deal.

Who is fumbling the ball?

"You gotta be careful when you throw around things like that, but enough people say it, it starts to get credibility. You know what the perception that they have slow played or sabotaged it, is dangerous enough because if that's what the city thinks, what you have here is a lack of trust," said Kevin Acee, the U.T., Sports Columnist. 

According to Acee, his sources have "laid out a pattern of behavior by the Chargers," that suggests the team tried to, "dupe Mayor Kevin Faulconer into thinking time was not of the essence."

Acee said the Chargers were looking for land in Los Angeles just in case. That "just in case" came at the beginning of the year, when the Rams owner announced a desire to move his team back to Los Angeles.

"All of a sudden, uh-oh, we gotta get that done, because no one wants to the second team in Los Angeles," said Acee.

Chargers Special Counsel, Mark Fabiani declined a request for an interview, but sent a statement:

"The city has asked us not to comment on the negotiations, and we are adhering to that ground rule for now -- even though it seems clear that at least some people in the Mayor's Office are breaking the ground rule on a daily basis."

City emails obtained by CBS News 8 show dysfunction in the negotiations.

City Attorney Jan Goldsmith encouraged face to face discussions between the Chargers and the city as soon as possible, basically sidestepping the whole process set up by the mayor with the Chargers Stadium Advisory Group.

Goldsmith also wanted to keep things as hush-hush as possible. By encouraging both sides to "freeze media comments" to which the mayor's office said "no way."

That is not conducive to an open relationship with the press and the public.

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