Raiders Relocation Watch: The Latest Developments

Disney CEO Bob Iger presented the case for the Carson stadium project on behalf of the Chargers, Raiders and Raiders owner Mark Davis Tuesday morning.

It’s unclear if the Chargers will actually join the Rams in Inglewood, with Chargers Chairman Dean Spanos repeatedly insisting he was committed to the Carson project, and had no interest in simply being a tenant in a stadium owned by Kroenke. With the Rams and maybe Chargers playing in Los Angeles just seven months from now, it isn’t clear yet where they will play. The Chargers, meanwhile, will have the option to join the Rams in LA as soon as next year.

The NFL’s Los Angeles Committee is now considering a plan that would dissolve the Chargers and Raiders joint venture, clearing the way for the Chargers and Rams to move to Los Angeles instead.

It remains unclear whether any decisions made by the owners this week will be final, and speculation has swirled regarding various scenarios. “We are not interested in a charade by the Chargers if they continue to pursue Los Angeles”.

The Rams entered these meetings promoting a $1.86-billion Inglewood project, while the Raiders and Chargers promoted a $1.7-billion stadium proposal in Carson.

League officials and owners who spoke on the condition of anonymity told the Los Angeles Times that Spanos doesn’t want to be seen as turning his back on a partner, making the path to what had been emerging as the preferred pairing more hard.

The league approved a separate option, putting the Rams and Chargers in the Inglewood proposal.

The Chargers and the city have been at odds since 2000, when owner Alex Spanos said his team needed to replace Qualcomm Stadium.

The St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission, which operates the Edward Jones Dome, had signed a lease with the Rams that would allow the team to leave St. Louis if the dome was not among the top eight stadiums by 2015.

The plan includes $150 million from the city, $250 million from Kroenke, at least $200 million from the league, and $160 million in fan seat licenses.

The Rams, Chargers, and Oakland Raiders all officially filed for relocation at the end of the regular season, but the National Football League was always only ever going to approve (at most) two of them moving to Los Angeles.

Iger said the time to act was now, and that the teams had all come to a point where patience will not be tolerated by fans in existing home markets. As far as Los Angeles goes, everything seems to be going pretty smoothly with all of this so far.