Greed the motivator as NFL teams rush to LA

In a 48-page report sent by Goodell to all 32 NFL teams, details of which have been obtained by the NFL Media Insider and the LA Times, the commissioner outlined facts about the respective home markets but did not make any recommendations about which franchises should be green-lighted for relocation.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has looked over the proposals from Oakland, San Diego and St. Louis to keep the Raiders, Chargers and Rams in their respective home cities.

Oakland hasn’t formally filed a stadium proposal, San Diego’s stadium plan relies on a public vote and St. Louis’ proposal requires too much financial support from the league, according to Goodell.

Had St. Louis’ proposal been well-received by the league, it could have paved the way for owners to approve the Raiders’ and Chargers’ joint $1.7 billion stadium proposal in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson.

Spanos said Kroenke’s proposal to build a stadium in Inglewood was “the catalyst” in the Chargers seeking to move.

It’s always good to talk to Carmen Policy, on all matters, but specifically now in his role as the point man for the Carson stadium project, as the Raiders and Chargers reach the final stages of their attempt to get National Football League approval for the site. I remember how excited I was as an 11-year old when the Rams were on their way out of Los Angeles and heading to St. Louis in 1995; I even attended their very first game at the now-renamed Trans World Dome.

Team owners will meet in Houston on Tuesday and Wednesday. “The only real plan produced in the last 14 years is the one proposed by the City, and the Chargers refused to negotiate on it. Any reasonable person can see that the Chargers have not met the requirements for relocation”.

We knew this was coming.

In just a few days, the future of the San Diego Chargers could be decided at a hotel in Houston.

All three teams would clearly rather start packing for Los Angeles.

If neither bid has the necessary support from 24 out of 32 owners, a compromise could be sought that might leave the Raiders back in Oakland.

Some cities are pushing back more against taxpayer money for pro sports teams, but others have long resisted – including Los Angeles.

Kroenke’s most noteworthy claims in the proposal, though, were about the city’s economy, which he said “ranks 490 out of 515 US cities and 61st among the 64 largest USA cities in economic growth in recent years”, according to one study. They are both locations where a first-class stadium can be built. In the St. Louis situation, relocation is actually in the lease. The Raiders still have a fan base down in the Los Angeles area, and there are parts of the Bay Area base camp that will follow the team no matter where it relocates to.