Photo by Katie Falkenberg/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images.
In an expected move, the St. Louis Rams, San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders all filed applications Monday to relocate their teams to Los Angeles for the 2016 season. Each of those teams have called L.A. home in the past. We may know by next week who, if any, will call it home once again.
Three separate NFL committees will review each filing before being presented at league meetings next week in Houston. In order for a team’s owner to get the thumbs up to relocate, they must get at least 24 of the league’s 32 owners to say yes.
The NFL has said it will support only one new stadium in the Los Angeles market capable of housing two NFL teams. That means the league could be forced to decide which of two competing stadium proposals to approve in Los Angeles County — a project in Inglewood, backed by Rams owner Stan Kroenke, or a project in Carson, jointly backed by the Raiders and Chargers.
Kroenke’s project calls for about $1.86 billion while the Chargers/Raiders plans call for around $1.7 billion. Both are reportedly privately financed.
It’s a lot of lettuce. But all three teams are desperate for new stadiums. The issue is that the cities which home these teams are desperate to keep them as well, at least in the case of St. Louis and San Diego.
Elected officials in San Diego have plans to put a $1.1 billion new stadium plan on the ballot for voters this summer. St. Louis has an official task force that’s sent forth their plan to the NFL already.
Another problem teams would face upon a move to LA is where to play until their new stadium is finished. The only viable option would be the LA Coliseum, home of the USC Trojans, as The Rose Bowl in Pasadena has been ruled out following a vote by the stadium’s governing board.
The NFL is about to get real interesting, and the topic will have nothing to do with the Super Bowl.
Josh Helmuth is the editor of CraveOnline Sports.
