The San Diego Chargers have appointed Fred Maas, the former chairman of San Diego’s Centre City Development Corp., to advise team owner and Chairman Dean Spanos on an upcoming citizens’ initiative to approve funding for a new football stadium.
A team statement said Maas will advise Spanos and the Chargers on the initiative process, including exploring possible stadium financing plans that would be publicly acceptable, the drafting of the initiative document, and creation of campaign infrastructure.
Chargers officials said Maas will be working closely with an established team of legal, financial and land-use advisors. Financial terms of the appointment were not disclosed.
In 2011 and 2012, Maas served as an informal advisor to then-mayor Jerry Sanders on options to build or renovate a stadium for the Chargers, along with a downtown entertainment district. At the time, those options included a proposed $800 million East Village stadium, put forward by the Chargers, and subsequent variations on that plan that incorporated convention and event space.
Centre City Development Corp., also known as CCDC, was the forerunner to today’s Civic San Diego, providing oversight on development projects primarily in the downtown area. Maas left CCDC in November 2010 to devote his full time to the clean-tech development company that he founded and serves as CEO, known as Pacific EcoCompanies LLC.
He is also currently president and managing director of MRV Systems LLC, which makes marine robotic vehicles for the oceanographic, intelligence and defense industries.
Maas has served previously as a partner in Potomac Sports Properties, a developer of PGA Tour Tournament Player Club communities. He was the developer of Black Mountain Ranch in San Diego, which currently includes residential neighborhoods such as Santaluz and Del Sur.
Over the past 30 years, Maas has served as a consultant and advisor to several political campaigns at the federal, state and local levels.
