NFL Merry-Go-Round: Relocation Roundelay

[Gothamite]

It was reported months ago that the Raiders were willing to move to the NFC. Peter King didn't think it through.

So this is one of those days that ends in "y", then.

[CubsFanBudMan]

Indeed.

[Mac the Knife]

It was reported months ago that the Raiders were willing to move to the NFC. Peter King didn't think it through.

As stated above, the Raiders are along for the ride no matter what. They won't be calling any shots. Sad that a storied franchise seems relegated to secondary status no matter which market it ends up in...

EDIT:

Here's a blog from the Arizona Cardinals website in October on the Raiders' willingness to switch to NFC:

http://blog.azcardinals.com/2014/10/08/the-nfl-l-a-and-raiders-in-nfc-west/

It mentions Seattle moving back to the AFC, but am I crazy to suggest that the Rams are a better fit with Kansas City and Denver as closer potential geographic rivalries *if* this Raiders-Chargers plan is the one that wins the favor of the NFL and St. Louis stays put? (Always thought the AFC South would be perfect, but Jacksonville is no longer in the L.A. running.) Plus Seattle's success in the NFC makes it hard to imagine they'd go willingly.

Mark Davis, in no way, shape or form, should be confused with his father. He's the proverbial son who inherits the family business, but because Dad was such a domineering figure within the organization, there wasn't a proper succession plan in place. I know how this goes from personal experience.

If Al were alive and had control of his faculties, the Raiders situation would've already been resolved in some form or fashion: he'd have either bulldozed Oakland into building a new stadium for them or moved to Los Angeles. Mark might be the salt of the Earth, but he's never had the heft his father did, was never given the chance to earn respect in the circles he's needed to, and as a result the Raiders are bringing up the rear in all this.

The smartest thing the Davis family could've done when Al died was to sell the franchise. Like Mike Brown in Cincinnati before him, Mark Davis isn't ever going to be viewed as anything other than a shadow of his father; and when it comes to this L.A. situation, that's going to prove costly no matter how it plays out.

[colortv]

Inglewood, Calif., city council to vote on plan for NFL stadium

http://www.si.com/nfl/2015/02/24/inglewood-los-angeles-stadium-vote

This was supposed to happen today, I can't find anything on the results though.

[colortv]

Tax-paying NFL fans win the battle for L.A.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/tax-paying-nfl-fans-win-the-battle-for-la-2015-02-24

[colortv]

NFL apparently likes current L.A. chaos

The race is on to build a stadium in Los Angeles. Rams owner Stan Kroenke intends to construct a new venue in Inglewood, and the Chargers and Raiders plan to erect a shared facility in Carson. In the wake of last week’s announcement from the teams currently headquartered in San Diego and Oakland, the folks in Inglewood have put the pedal to the metal.

It’s chaos, with a trio of cities plunged into uncertainty regarding the future of their franchises. And the NFL seems to relish the chaos, since it apparently will lead to a solution to the 20-year-old L.A. problem.

“In my opinion, the most important thing represented by the recently announced club-driven initiatives, is that the options available to present a viable L.A. solution have increased,” executive V.P. of NFL ventures and business operations Eric Grubman recently told the media company the NFL owns. “No project is certain until all the issues have been worked out, and the owners have voted to move forward, but two potentially viable projects pushing ahead increases the probability that something could get done.”

For years, it’s been believed that the NFL would wait to return to Los Angeles until a pair of viable, competing projects emerged, since the two projects could then be leveraged against each other to secure the best terms for the NFL and its teams. While the well of taxpayer money and other public perks apparently has gone dry, the current atmosphere of competition between Inglewood and Carson at a time when the NFL now views L.A. as a necessity not a luxury means that something will likely get done without the NFL sacrificing too much to make it happen.

The real question is whether the league office is working behind the scenes with the three teams to engineer an eventual solution, or whether the Commissioner and his lieutenants have opted to allow the Chargers, Raiders, and Rams to battle it out via their competing projects to determine a winner.

Some believe that the Chargers and Raiders are better positioned to win the contest, given the perception/reality that San Diego owner Dean Spanos has superior political connections to Kroenke. Also, some concerns exist about the placement of the Inglewood venue in the landing path at LAX. While airplane traffic is a reality at facilities like MetLife Stadium, the FAA and the Department of Homeland Security surely would prefer not having a Super Bowl being played adjacent to the path on which international flights are arriving in Los Angeles.

Regardless, the NFL doesn’t seem to be inclined to clunk heads just yet, because the chaos arising from the L.A. chase could be the only thing that ultimately gets one or two franchises to the finish line.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/02/24/nfl-apparently-likes-current-l-a-chaos/

Molly Qerim: ‘NFL To Los Angeles Never Going To Happen Without Two Teams’

Los Angeles is one of the biggest cities in America, and it’s where the NFL Network is based. And yet, this city does not have an NFL team.

It’s borderline inexplicable.

But it could soon be changing.

Yes, the St. Louis Rams could be on their way to Los Angeles – that is, of course, if owner Stan Kroenke isn’t simply using L.A. for leverage to build a new stadium in St. Louis.

While Rams fans are probably on pins and needles, what’s the vibe on the West Coast? Is there a buzz around town, or have fans adopted an I’’ll-believe-it-when-I-see-it mindset after not having professional football for the last two decades?

“You know, it’s funny that you bring this up,” NFL Network analyst Molly Qerim said on CBS Sports Radio’s The DA Show. “I was reading the USA Today this morning – yes, I still get the paper dropped off – and there was a whole article (about Los Angeles getting a team). In the article – and I know they’ve been hearing this for quite a bit – it seemed like . . . the mayor of Inglewood (James T. Butts) . . . was speaking about how close they are (to bringing a team to Los Angeles) and that it looks like it would be the Rams and how Inglewood is ready for it and it is going to happen.”

Butts, 61, was extremely confident in the story, saying, “It’s going down,” and “This is a happening thing.”

But it might not be as simply as Butts thinks.

“So here’s the thing,” Qerim said. “From that kind of perspective in terms of what I’m reading, it seems like yes, a team is going to come to Inglewood. (But) within NFL and NFL Network colleagues, they’re saying it’s never going to happen until (there are) two teams. They’re going to build this stadium (in Los Angeles), and they’re going to have two teams in the stadium. It’s not going to be one. So that’s inside scoop in terms of (the) NFL talking to NFL Network colleagues.”

The Rams would apparently move to Inglewood, but Qerim said that the local fans aren’t getting their hopes up.

“What I’m hearing from fans – you know I’m from the East Coast and I’ve only been out here three years – but they’re so skeptical and kind of scorned that they don’t believe it, so they’re not buying the hype,” Qerim said. “Now, for me – someone who’s out here as a transplant – I’m like, This would be amazing: Working for NFL Network, potentially having two teams out here. It doesn’t make sense to me why they don’t have a team. I think they should. But it seems like there’s a lot behind the scene in terms of owners, the NFL, politics and a lot that is going to go into this happening. But they’re saying right now it’s closer than its ever been, and 2016 is a real possibility.”

Kroenke, 67, is a Missouri native who owns several professional sports franchises. He has a net worth of roughly $5.8 billion.

http://da.radio.cbssports.com/2015/02/17/molly-qerim-nfl-to-los-angeles-never-going-to-happen-without-two-teams/

[CubsFanBudMan]

Thanks for the links. That MarketWatch piece ends with an interesting paragraph:

San Diego and Oakland dont have to scramble or wail or pass the hat ... they just have to wait. If Davis and the Spanos family are willing to put $850 million toward a stadium in L.A., they just set the starting price for new facilities in either of their current home cities. The negotiation starts there, and any amount of public money greater than the zero dollars that L.A. is paying should be considered an insult.

[Still MIGHTY]

With an unanimous vote, Inglewood approves the construction plans.

Stan Kroenke is shovel-ready.

[rams80]

And so 2015 is the last season in St. Louis

[Rockstar Matt]

Wow, we really are going to have the NFL back in Los Angeles. I mean, we've seen it coming and progressing towards this for the last couple of years, but it's actually happening.

I should buy a LA Rams jersey now.

[Still MIGHTY]

Wow, we really are going to have the NFL back in Los Angeles. I mean, we've seen it coming and progressing towards this for the last couple of years, but it's actually happening.

I should buy a LA Rams jersey now.

Oh I definitely didn't just skim eBay to see what the going rate for vintage LA Rams gear is...

And by didn't, I mean I totally did.

[DarkJourney]

I feel bad for St. Louis Rams fans but it will be cool to see San Francisco 49ers vs. Los Angeles Rams again. That just feels right.

[colortv]

Let's slow down....this is a very complicated matter and there are still a lot of moving pieces.

[STL FANATIC]

Carson's ballot initiative is written and will be made public soon. They'll need to gather 8,000 some odd signatures and then they can go the same route Inglewood did or wait for the public vote.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/sportsnow/la-sp-sn-chargers-raiders-stadium-carson-ballot-initiative-20150224-story.html

I think what today's (expected) news did was confirm beyond a shadow of a doubt that there will be football in LA in 2016.

The plan isn't to break ground until December in Inglewood, which is interesting. Carson's plan is aiming for June approval at the latest, meaning they'll be "caught up" at that point.

Still more fun to come.

[TBGKon]

Inglewood City Council approves stadium plans...

http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nfl/story/_/id/12378821/inglewood-city-council-oks-fast-tracking-st-louis-rams-backed-nfl-stadium

[Still MIGHTY]

Based on the reaction from San Diego after the Chargers/Raiders' announcement, I don't think the Carson plan sees the light of day.

[cajunaggie08]

St. Louis and Missouri still owe plenty on the Edward Jones Dome, too, but they're trying to spend hundreds of millions more also. It's all crummy.

Harris County, TX is still paying for the renovations that Bud Adams demanded for the Astrodome in the 80s. I'm not sure when these publicly funded stadium bonds ever get paid off. Teams have record profits each year yet the local governments incure debts that last for decades just to appease these team owners so they dont pick up their bags and leave.

[STL FANATIC]

Based on the reaction from San Diego after the Chargers/Raiders' announcement, I don't think the Carson plan sees the light of day.

Entirely possible. Desperate cities do desperate things.

[Gothamite]

Yeah, the Carson plan served its purpose. It scared San Diego into action whereas before they were totally stalled.

If the Rams do move back to LA, I hope the rumors are true and the team has already applied for a return to its classic royal and gold. There's a nice visual treat in that, returning to the old colors in time for a move back to the old home. It would put a capstone on their time in St. Louis.

[STL FANATIC]

While the differences in the owners intent is the real key here, I can't help but notice the different attitudes towards St. Louis and San Diego.

St. Louis unveils a plan, a rendering, a funding breakdown, a time frame, etc, and all he talk is about how it's an empty plan. Nothing actually there. Few believe(d) it had a shot to progress.

San Diego—where there has been no appetite to publicly support a stadium for 14 years—announces an expedited time frame for their task force, and the assumption is they're now building the stadium.

If they do put forth a viable stadium plan, there's has a real good chance of happening because they have an owner committed to the community, where as it might not matter with St. Louis because they don't. That much, I obviously agree with.

But the levels of confidence in the two cities is a bit odd to me.