SAN DIEGO -- One of three cities vying to provide the Chargers a new stadium site has taken itself out of the ballgame.National City officials last week withdrew from the process after being turned down for money to hire outside consultants and failing to enlist the necessary support from other agencies throughout the region.Under consideration in that city was a 67-acre bayfront site at the 24th Street Marine terminal, owned mostly by the Port of [COLOR=darkgreen ! important]
San Diego[/color] and Burlingame Northern Santa Fe Railway.

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Preliminary estimates pegged the cost of developing the site for stadium use at around $400 million -- nearly half the cost of high-end projections for the stadium itself.The Chargers' "run to daylight" now centers on two options: Oceanside, which is touting a municipal golf course just east of Interstate 5 and north of Oceanside Boulevard; and Chula Vista, where four sites are on the table -- two inland, and two on the bayfront.The Chargers are bankrolling a $200,000 consultants' study of the Chula Vista sites.Where does National City's bailout leave the process? According to Chargers General Counsel Mark Fabiani, the Oceanside City Council has earmarked, but not spent, about $100,000 for a consulting study.City staffers and team officials will meet Tuesday to further discuss the Centre City Golf Course site -- where the Chargers now envision a mixed-use development, anchored mostly by office complexes, to generate revenue for the stadium construction.In Chula Vista, Fabiani said the Chargers are most interested in the current site of the South Bay Power Plant, 135 acres owned by the Port, which is scheduled for demolition and undergrounding of SDG&E's switching yard and power lines.It's just of Interstate 5, south of State Route 54, across I-5 from the Trolley line."I think each site (Oceanside and Chula Vista/bayfront) has advantages," Fabiani told NBC 7/39. "Each site has disadvantages. The perfect site was at Qualcomm Stadium" -- where the team wanted 60 acres to develop in conjunction with 6,000 housing uits -- a prospect that fell by the wayside due to the downturned residential market and San Diego's financial crisis."We worked on it for five years. We were unable to get the city of San Diego to engage us."Even though the Bolts are underwriting the Chula Vista sites report, due out next month, and have offered to pay for the city's November, 2008 ballot costs of about $25,000, the team still has doubts to overcome in that South Bay community."I get e-mails from half the people that say, 'We want the Chargers in Chula Vista," Mayor Cheryl Cox told NBC-7/39. "And the other half say, 'Send them somewhere else.'"