When it comes to Chargers fans, love can be a many splendored thing. Fans may eventually deal with tough love if the public is asked to pay $500 million of the estimated $800 million cost for a new downtown stadium. These are bittersweet denominators for what could be a last-ditch effort to keep the professional football team in town. It may boil down to a referendum in which the citizens will be asked to vote yes or no at the polls. The new proposed stadium would be publicly owned and privately operated. Public financing for a stadium would likely come in the form of tax-increment bonds and maybe more if the NFL fails to come up with a promised $100 million. The Chargers would pay a projected $200 million toward the project. After the team and the National Football League put in their portions, the public will be asked to pick up the balance of the $800 million price tag for the 62,000-seat playpen that would take up 11 acres near Petco Park. Derek Danziger, vice president of marketing for the Centre City Development Corporation, said it’s too early to speculate how much of an economic impact the stadium would have. “It would be difficult to quantify what additional business would be (in the area),” he said. He did say, however, that additional businesses and hotel occupancies around Petco Park have generated $2 billion since the baseball park was built in 2004. The city, which is also pondering expenses to expand the Convention Center, is hard-pressed for cash. Each venture offers needed revenue, but the investments are high. Chargers special counsel Mark Fabiani, who has dealt with many other county groups, called this site the team’s “last best option.” Carlsbad, Escondido, National City and Chula Vista, cities with previously-proposed sites, found their limits. Fabiani often visits service clubs in the area to detail the prospects and discuss the versatility of such an entertainment facility as a Chargers stadium. He was interviewed for this article 10 minutes before he attended a Lions Club meeting. Fabiani said the downtown site near 17th Street and Imperial Avenue would save money because of the availability of public parking and transportation. “The downtown site is really only about 11 acres, so there wouldn’t be room for anything else [as in related retail projects],” said Fabiani, who has been with the Chargers since 2002. “As you know, there have been many stops and starts. With the Dean Spanos family we have been trying to get something done for eight years. Still trying.” There has been talk about installing a retractable roof, which would be beneficial for events other than football. “It wouldn’t be a tremendous cost if you put a fabric roof over it.” Fabiani said. “The city, obviously, would have to determine if it made sense, so they might move some of the events over from the Sports Arena.” Fabiani said with the advantages of San Diego’s weather, it would take about 32 months to build — if it were to be approved. Although Fabiani said the city is still studying how to pay for a new stadium and it would be premature to speculate how exactly it would be financed, the Chargers are counting on public financing to help with construction, Fabiani advised members of the San Diego Stadium Coalition. The San Diego Stadium Coalition is a grassroots community organization formed in January 2009 with the objective of facilitating the development of a new stadium in San Diego County. Citing the economic benefits of building a new stadium and a desire to keep the San Diego Chargers in the region, they continue to work with taxpayers groups, developers, politicians and the Chargers to move the stadium effort forward. By leveraging social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, along with traditional media outlets and interactive public forums, they have amassed a sizable following in a brief amount of time. Should a new stadium be approved, no doubt a deal with the city would have to be more palatable than what has been negotiated in the past. The San Diego County grand jury had previously released a report that was critical of the city’s lease agreement with the Chargers for use of the Chargers’ present game-day location at Qualcomm Stadium. The report cites the city for annual operating losses of about $17 million after crediting net rents paid by the Chargers and other income from non-Chargers events. The grand jury cautioned the city to negotiate a better deal if it decides to help build a new stadium. A spokesman for Mayor Jerry Sanders said the city intends to review any new stadium proposal, but in the end voters would have the final say.