Chargers’ execs A.J. Smith, g.m., Ken Garret, marketing v.p. and Mark Fabiani, the team’s representative, talked acquisitions and new stadiums before members of the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce during a breakfast at the La Costa Resort.

Smith, the new g.m., calls the Chargers’ upcoming season a “push year” where making the playoffs is key to gaining community credibility. New players to help, he says, include veteran wide receiver David Boston.

As the team’s lead in stadium negotiations with the city of San Diego, Fabiani was asked if the ongoing federal investigation of three members of the council was impeding discussions. He responded that the city’s negotiating team he deals with does not include members of the council. “Negotiations haven’t been affected, (but) we can’t predict what is going to happen with the investigation,” he says. “We’ll keep working and hope for the best.”

Fabiani’s appearance before the small gathering of Carlsbad business owners was to drum up support for a huge redevelopment project at the existing Qualcomm Stadium site. “We’re here because San Diego needs a new stadium eventually in order to attract Super Bowls,” Fabiani says. He acknowledges the sour feelings surrounding the ticket guarantee, as well as the remaining opposition to the Padres’ new ballpark and the negative impact of a downbeat economy.

“We have no illusions that people will vote (today to pay) for a stadium for the Chargers or for the NFL to have Super Bowls,” Fabiani says. He favors scrapping the current lease and ticket guarantee, negotiating a new one and taking a redevelopment plan to voters in 2006.

Fabiani, who once served as special counsel to Al Gore and President Clinton, says the redevelopment will pay for the new stadium, with funds coming from the construction of new housing and a shopping center. The proposed site also will include park lands and infrastructure for traffic mitigation.

The Chargers organization, he says, will take the risk of the entire development by investing $200 million of its own money, an unprecedented amount from a team playing in a city the size of San Diego. This would include millions of dollars to pay for an environmental impact report. “The site is ripe for redevelopment,” Fabiani says.

— Robert Amaro