Venue News: Chargers Veto Temporary Location Plan in L.A., Buckeyes Go Green

The San Diego Chargers, the team most commonly linked to a move to Los Angeles, would not consider a move to a temporary location next year if Los Angeles does not break ground on Farmers Field by that point. Chargers special counsel Mark Fabiani does not believe that the proposed $1.2 billion football stadium in downtown Los Angeles will be close to that point by next year. The Chargers can announce their intentions to leave San Diego between Feb. 1 and May 1 of each year through 2020 by paying an early-termination fee, which would be $24 million next year — a fee AEG has said it would be willing to pay. Fabiani, however, continues to work with San Diego mayor Jerry Sanders to keep the team in San Diego. The Chargers are hoping to build a retractable roof stadium in downtown San Diego, which would be part of an expanded San Diego Convention Center. The proposal is similar to AEG’s in downtown Los Angeles, except it does not have the support of the San Diego Convention Center, which has its own proposal for an expansion…

…Ohio State University has announced that Ohio Stadium will no longer need trash bins because everything sold inside the stadium during football games can either be recycled or composted. The effort is called “zero waste,” and will divert 90% of trash from landfills. Recycling and composting bins will be placed throughout the stadium on game days, and visitors will be told that anything that is not compostable, such as plastic bottles, aluminum cans, and glass bottles, should be tossed in scarlet recycling units. Compostable items, such as food, napkins, paper products and pizza boxes, should be placed in gray containers. OSU officials say the stadium would be the largest in the world to attempt such a venture…

… The possibility of moving the New York Islanders to Brooklyn, and thus keeping them on Long Island, is now looking more realistic. An NHL spokesperson confirmed reports that Barclays Center developer Bruce Ratner and CEO Brett Yormark recently met with NHL officials. Earlier this month, Yormark had indicated that the Barclays Center was a viable option for the team. However, one question that has surfaced repeatedly with regards to the Barclays Center is whether the arena’s limited capacity — believed to be about 14,000 for hockey — would be a deterrent. The NHL has said that there are no established seating capacity requirements, and venues are evaluated on a case-by-case basis…

… Think Big Sacramento, the mayor’s task force charged with planning a new downtown Sacramento sports arena, has unveiled part of their plan to finance the venue. The preliminary “User Fees Report” outlines several extra fees that fans may have to pay if they attend an event at the new arena.  The user fees, or surcharges, could raise as much as $20 million every year to help contribute to the $387 million price tag of the Sacramento Kings’ new home.