The Carson stadium project took a big step forward today, as the Los Angeles County Registrar’s office has certified the signatures obtained in support of the project, according to Nathan Fenno of the Los Angeles Times. The Carson proposal is the brainchild of the Chargers and Raiders, who are planning a shared, $1.7 billion stadium in Carson–which is on the edge of Los Angeles–if both teams are unable to get new stadiums in their current cities.
Of course, Rams owner Stan Kroenke is hoping to build an 80,000-seat stadium in Inglewood, roughly 10 miles from downtown LA, and we heard just a few weeks ago that Kroenke, whose proposal was approved by the Inglewood City Council back in February, was farther along in the process than the Carson group. However, the verification of signatures in support of the Carson project is an important milestone, as ESPN’s Adam Caplan notes. Caplan writes, “The proposal will go to the City Council, which could vote as soon as Tuesday to schedule an election or consider the plan without sending it to local voters.”
As Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reiterates, there will not be two stadiums in Los Angeles; either the Carson project or the Inglewood project will win out (assuming, of course, that all teams currently in the mix to move to LA do not stay put, which is looking increasingly unlikely). Meanwhile, Florio writes that the project that would keep the Chargers in San Diego is lagging far behind both LA proposals, as it “lacks a stadium design, specific funding sources, or support from the Chargers.” The Carson government is capitalizing on that lack of progress, and in so doing, it might have gained a little ground on Kroenke.