The NFL is preparing to have football in Los Angeles, starting with the 2016-17 season. This would be the first time the league has played in the City of the Angels since 1994. That may soon change for the St. Louis Rams and San Diego Chargers, who may share a stadium in Inglewood. The move to L.A. seems to be gaining momentum and is being driven by the Rams, according to sources close to the discussions.
Potential Outcomes of NFL Relocation to L.A.
The Oakland Raiders, along with the Chargers, have talked extensively about building a stadium in Carson, CA, and owners of the Chargers seem to be staying partnered with the Raiders, but that could change at any time during the discussions with NFL owners in Houston over the next few days.
There seems to be growing support from owners around the league to support the move to Los Angeles for more than one of these teams, even though no one today would commit to that being a done deal. The talks by the Rams, Chargers, and Raiders about moving back to southern California has been ongoing for quite some time, and most folks close to the discussions think it might already be a done deal. The NFL, although not coming out one way or the other, would benefit with a team or teams in the Los Angeles area.
Behind the scenes, those close to the negotiations say that the league will make upwards of over $10 billion a year should a team move back to Los Angeles, and they want to get this done quickly, so that the team or teams can start selling season tickets to those who have been waiting years for this move to become a reality. Reports today indicate that most owners would rather approve a Chargers and Rams move, rather than see the Raiders leave the Bay Area, but that remains to be seen in the next day or two.
If there is a vote this week, three-fourths of NFL owners must approve relocation. It seems to come down to who’s willing to approve of the move by one or two of the teams, and shut the other one out. At this point, it doesn’t appear all three will be moving to L.A. next season – and the likely team on the outside looking in may be the Raiders, who can decide to stay in Oakland, by no choice of their own, or talk to their neighbors, the 49ers, about playing in Santa Clara the next few seasons.
Rams ownership seems to have the most salient plan in place for a new stadium, and are probably looking for a junior partner in the Chargers to offset what may be in excess of $2-3 billion for a new stadium. Fans and supporters in St. Louis have been petitioning the league and holding rallies to keep the team there, but it seems that the die has been cast, and the team will move one way or the other.
Talk about moving a team to Los Angeles has been years in the making, and it looked like the Jaguars would be the franchise to go first since they have had a lack of fan support since their early years in the NFL. It remains to be seen what will happen this week in Houston, considering there is still a few key coaching vacancies to be filled, but it appears this issue has moved to the top of the NFL priority list – for good or bad.
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