The Los Angeles Chargers feel misplaced in SoFi Stadium rather than the Bolts’ longtime home of San Diego.
And on Thursday, word from the Los Angeles Times’ Nathan Fenno that the Spanos family is in the midst of a feud that has landed the team’s ownership in court.
In an attempt to force the sale of the Chargers, a sister of controlling owner Dean Spanos filed a petition in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Thursday arguing that mounting debt has imperiled the family’s finances and the only solution is to put the NFL franchise on the market.
The petition by Dea Spanos Berberian, who serves as co-trustee of the family trust along with her brother, alleges the trust’s debts and expenses exceed $353 million. In addition, according to the filing, the trust doesn’t have a plan to pay more than $22 million it has pledged to charities.
A big piece of BREAKING NEWS from @nathanfenno … https://t.co/q5c7qRxbRV
— Sam Farmer (@LATimesfarmer) April 1, 2021
The Spanos family responded to the challenge in a statement.
“For the three of us, the Chargers is one of our family’s most important legacies, just as it was for our parents,” the statement said. “Unfortunately, our sister Dea seems to have a different and misguided personal agenda.”
They said “operations of the Chargers will be entirely unaffected by this matter.”
Another Times reporter tweeted a fascinating piece of info:
"The petition noted reports that Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, worth an estimated $180 billion, is interested in becoming an NFL owner and said 'the Chargers could be a perfect opportunity.' " https://t.co/S308Om8cDG
— Bill Shaikin (@BillShaikin) April 1, 2021
There will be millions and millions of dollars at stake via this issue and we don’t mean simply via the hours of billing by attorneys.