City Of San Diego News & Rumors

Rams, Chargers Agree In Principle To L.A. Deal

January 29th, 2016 at 3:29pm CST by Luke Adams

The Rams and Chargers have agreed in principle to a deal that would see the two franchises sharing an NFL stadium in Inglewood, reports Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune. While such an agreement allows the Chargers to move to Los Angeles as early as 2016, the club has yet to officially make that decision.

As Acee explains, the Chargers will have until January 15, 2017 to announce whether or not the team will exercise its option to move to Los Angeles. If the club confirms in the coming weeks that it will make the move, relocation could occur immediately, for the 2016 season — the Chargers have already reportedly bought land in Santa Ana to potentially use for a team headquarters, and the L.A. Coliseum is expected to allow a second NFL team to join the Rams there on a temporary basis.

However, the Chargers could also use the agreement as leverage to attempt to work something out with the city of San Diego. If the team decides to try to make things work in its current home, it could spend the 2016 season at Qualcomm while negotiating with the city, in the hopes of coming up with a viable stadium plan before next January.

According to Acee, the Chargers’ deadline to make its Los Angeles decision could even be extended to 2018 if the team gets a stadium initiative on the ballot in San Diego this year. The extra year would allow for legal challenges or a second election. If the Chargers ultimately reach an agreement with the city of San Diego to remain there, the Raiders would get the opportunity to join the Rams in Inglewood.

With an agreement between the Rams and Chargers in place, the next step is for Chargers owner Dean Spanos to make a decision on the team’s short-term – and potentially long-term – home. If the team intends to move to Los Angeles for the 2016 season, it will have to make that decision by March 23, though an announcement one way or the other is expected to come well before then.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Latest On Rams/Chargers L.A. Talks

January 28th, 2016 at 4:07pm CST by Luke Adams

4:00pm: The Chargers have acquired land in Orange County, per Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune (on Twitter), and he hears that it is for their headquarters and practice facility. The Bolts issued a statement on the matter (Twitter link via Vincent Bonsignore of the Daily News) and explained that they are simply keeping their options open. Because of the red tape involved in doing such a project, the statement explained, it was necessary for the Chargers to get the ball rolling on that process in the event that they relocate to L.A.

11:44am: A report out of Southern California earlier this week suggested that talks between the Rams and Chargers on a potential stadium partnership had reached an impasse, with the Chargers likely to remain in San Diego for 2016. However, that’s not the case, according to Vincent Bonsignore of InsideSoCal.com, who reports that the Chargers are simply doing their due diligence and completing the number-crunching necessary to fully evaluate the proposal on the table for a potential move to L.A.

Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune hears that people around the league continue to believe that the Rams and Chargers will agree to a deal soon. The Chargers would like to have resolution by the end of this week, one source tells Acee, though it’s not clear yet if that goal will be met. Bonsignore heard on Wednesday that, depending on when the situation is resolved, the Rams and Chargers could postpone an announcement until after the Super Bowl, so as not to upstage the NFL’s main event (Twitter link).

Although an agreement looks likely to be reached, Acee cautions that even if the Rams and Chargers agree to a deal in principle, that doesn’t necessarily mean the Chargers will leave San Diego right away. Team and league sources tell Acee that a deal with the Rams is necessary for the Chargers if they intend to try to get a stadium built in San Diego, since it would give the franchise significant leverage.

The Chargers have until next January to officially make a decision on their long-term home, so the club could theoretically play in San Diego for one more season – with a Los Angeles deal in place – and then move to L.A. in 2017 if there’s still no viable San Diego stadium solution on the table by that point.

If the Chargers and Rams strike an agreement, it would be a limited partnership deal, according to Acee. The Rams would take on the majority of the risk, along with the majority of the revenue, while the Chargers would “still realize significant gains over what is available in San Diego.” One league source tells Acee that there’s no downside to the L.A. proposal for the Chargers, while another says it would be a “good-to-great” deal for the team.

Moving to Los Angeles along with the Rams may be more beneficial for the Chargers over the long term, but league sources are unconvinced that owner Dean Spanos is totally on board with the idea yet, with one source telling Acee, “I believe Dean will be very, very unhappy in Los Angeles.” So that’s worth keeping in mind as the Chargers move toward a decision.

Finally, if the Chargers end up in Los Angeles for the 2016 season, they’ll need someplace to play, and sharing the L.A. Coliseum with the Rams looks like the most logical solution to that dilemma. Per an Associated Press report, the Coliseum Commission is meeting today to consider amending USC’s current lease to allow a second NFL team to play at the stadium.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Raiders’ Move To San Diego Is “Very Viable”

January 24th, 2016 at 8:53am CST by Rory Parks

The respective futures of the Chargers and Raiders are still very much in the air, and according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, a potential Raiders’ move to San Diego is “very viable.” The Chargers and Rams, of course, are discussing the possibility of a Los Angeles partnership, and if the Chargers do end up following the Rams to LA, Schefter says the Raiders could move to San Diego in 2017 or 2018. San Diego has already been floated as a possible landing spot for the Raiders, but Schefter’s report indicates that those rumors could have some serious traction.

The Raiders are expected to remain in Oakland for at least the 2016 season, as Schefter and Matt Artz and Rebecca Parr of the Contra Costa Times write. Per Artz and Parr, Raiders brass and the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Authority will meet behind closed doors tomorrow to discuss a lease extension. As Artz and Parr indicate, Raiders owner Mark Davis wants the extension while he continues to negotiate with city leaders for a new stadium in Oakland.

In a separate piece for InsideBayArea.com, Artz says that Raiders and Oakland officials have the same strategy for financing a new stadium: “entice a developer to help pay for it in return for cheap land and a piece of the team.” However, it is doubtful whether that strategy will be enough to help fund what the Raiders believe will be a $900MM project, especially since the Raiders’ insistence on preserving most of the stadium site for tailgating-friendly surface parking spaces limits any developer’s ability to turn a profit. On the other hand, Artz points out that the Raiders’ options outside of Oakland, including San Diego, have some major drawbacks. For instance, if Davis were to pursue a move to San Diego, Artz says that public stadium subsidies would be far from a sure thing, which could take that option off the table entirely.

But Schefter’s source is apparently more optimistic than Artz. And although the terms “Los Angeles Rams” and “Los Angeles Raiders” are rather familiar to many football fans, that source suggests that everyone might have to get used to saying “San Diego Raiders” in the near future.

Dean Spanos, Stan Kroenke To Meet Next Week

January 15th, 2016 at 4:37pm CST by Luke Adams

4:37pm: As noted below, Spanos and Kroenke will indeed meet soon. That sit-down will happen next week, a league source tells Bonsignore (Twitter link).

2:14pm: The Chargers technically have until March 23 to decide whether or not they’ll join the Rams in Los Angeles for the 2016 season, but the team’s decision is expected well before then, writes Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune. According to Vincent Bonsignore of InsideSoCal.com, the Chargers would like to decide within the next two or three weeks whether a deal can get done with the Rams, meaning there could be some sort of resolution around the time of Super Bowl 50.

While most NFL team owners expect the Chargers to ultimately make the move to Los Angeles, owner Dean Spanos reached out to San Diego mayor Kevin Faulconer on Thursday, months after disengaging from stadium talks with the city, according to Acee. Spanos and Faulconer didn’t set a time or date for a subsequent meeting, but the mayor tells Acee that the tone of the call, which lasted about five minutes, was cordial.

“I said very clearly to him I would welcome the opportunity to get together at his earliest convenience,” Faulconer said on Friday. “I told him we can discuss a variety of different options on how to move forward.”

One league source suggests to Bonsignore that it makes sense for the Chargers to commit to San Diego for a year, rather than rushing into an L.A. deal with the Rams: “See where it gets you. Have a vote. Get finality.” In theory, that’s probably good advice, but Spanos and company may not want to fall behind the Rams and let Stan Kroenke‘s club get a leg up in L.A.

So even though San Diego remains a possibility for the Chargers, the team is expected to meet with the Rams soon, and according to Acee, multiple sources expect the Chargers to reach an agreement in principle with the Rams before seriously re-engaging the city of San Diego.

The possibility that Kroenke will play hardball with Spanos and the Chargers doesn’t look like a potential roadblock for the Los Angeles negotiations, according to Bonsignore, who writes that the Rams owner promised his fellow owners that he will “work fairly and honorably” with Spanos. NFL sources tell Bonsignore that the Chargers will essentially have 30 other partners in discussions with Kroenke, plus commissioner Roger Goodell, ensuring that they’ll avoid any pitfalls or surprises and will get a reasonable deal from the Rams.

As we wait to see which direction the Chargers go, let’s round up a few more items related to Los Angeles, the Rams, the Chargers, and the Raiders….

Sam Farmer and Nathan Fenno of the Los Angeles Times conducted an exclusive Q&A session with Kroenke discussing the Rams‘ relocation and the Inglewood project.
Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com is unconvinced that the Raiders will end up anywhere expect in the Bay Area, writing that the NFL will be reluctant to approve a move to San Diego if the Chargers head to Los Angeles, since the league won’t want its L.A. project undermined. La Canfora also believes that Texans owner Bob McNair and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones would work hard to keep the Raiders out of San Antonio. For what it’s worth, other reporters have suggested the league would be okay with three teams in Southern California.
Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk also explores the Raiders‘ options, suggesting that San Antonio is likely more of a leverage play than a realistic landing spot for the franchise.

Latest On Raiders’ Relocation Options

January 14th, 2016 at 7:38pm CST by Luke Adams

On Tuesday, the Raiders were promised a $100MM consolation package when their Carson stadium plan was not approved. That money, we were told, would be given to the Raiders if they wound up staying in Oakland and building a new stadium. As it turns out, they might still be able to put that money toward a new stadium even if it’s outside of Oakland.

League sources tell Vincent Bonsignore of the Daily News (on Twitter) that there is “market flexibility” with the $100MM grant. The sense is that if the Raiders can’t work out something in Oakland but can work out something in San Diego, then that $100MM will be available to them (link).

Of course, even if the Chargers end up leaving San Diego, that’s not the only potential non-Oakland landing spot for the Raiders. Charles Robinson of Yahoo! Sports identifies four possible cities for relocation besides San Diego, though he does place the Chargers’ current home at the top of his list. And sources tell Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com that Mark Davis and the Raiders would “take a serious look” at their options in San Diego if the Chargers head to Los Angeles.

Still, San Antonio is another city that has real interest in the Raiders, as Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle details. Former San Antonio Spurs and Minnesota Vikings owner Red McCombs confirms that he talked to Davis this week, adding that San Antonio has “got the whole program put together” for a possible Raiders move.

Unlike the city of St. Louis, whose mayor Francis Slay said this week that he currently has “no appetite” for pursuing another NFL team with the Rams leaving, San Antonio leaders are interested in bringing the NFL to the city. However, McCombs acknowledges that the interest will need to be mutual for Davis and the Raiders to consider moving to Texas.

“We still have to get them to want to come here,” McCombs said during an appearance on ESPN San Antonio. “[Davis] was born and raised there and he has a great feeling for the state of California. But it appears he is going to need to go somewhere.”

While there’s a decent chance that the Raiders will stay in Oakland for the 2016 season as the franchise assesses its options, there’s currently no lease in place for the team to play next season at O.co Coliseum, so many scenarios remain in play for ’16 and beyond. The Raiders are likely hoping the Chargers will make a quick decision so there will be some clarity on whether a spot in Inglewood alongside the Rams may be available a year from now.

Zach Links contributed to this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Chargers On Verge Of L.A. Move?

January 13th, 2016 at 5:15pm CST by Zachary Links

Even though they technically have one year to hash things out, the Chargers already appear poised to move to Los Angeles. The NFL has been presented with the framework of a stadium deal that would join the Rams and Chargers in Inglewood, Alex Flanagan of NFL Network tweets. The Chargers are vetting it now and, barring anything unforeseen, the Bolts will in fact go to L.A. Vincent Bonsignore of the Daily News (on Twitter) hears that the Chargers received this framework on Tuesday night, after the league’s vote.

On Tuesday night, the league voted to green light the Rams’ proposed move to a brand new site in Inglewood, California. The vote came with an interesting stipulation, however, The Chargers were granted until January 16, 2017 to join up with the Rams and make the move to Los Angeles. If they did not sign off on the move, then the league would have moved on to another team to be determined with the Raiders thought to have priority.

The decision stripped the Chargers of some leverage, but they did get some bargaining chips out of it. First, they were allotted $100MM to build a brand new stadium in San Diego, if they decided against L.A. Secondly, the Rams were barred from collecting on personal seat licenses or selling naming rights to their new stadium until until February 15, 2017, unless they bring a second team aboard before then. That gave the Rams extra incentive to get something done with the Chargers, and that appears to have happened tonight.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Latest On Chargers, San Diego

January 13th, 2016 at 4:27pm CST by Zachary Links

The latest on the Bolts and the city of San Diego:

San Diego mayor Kevin Faulconer says Tuesday night’s ruling from the NFL is an opportunity for a fresh start in the stadium talks with the Chargers, as Bernie Wilson of the AP tweets. The NFL has given the Chargers a one-year window to sign on with the Rams for an L.A. move. If they do not pull the trigger on a move, they will remain in San Diego with a $100MM grant from the league to help build a new stadium.
Faulconer says the Mission Valley proposal is still on the table but he will listen if the Chargers want to start over with another location (link).
Faulconer and County Supervisor Ron Roberts say they won’t budge off of their offer for $350MM in public money towards a stadium, however (link).
The Chargers believe that the framework presented to them to join the Rams in Los Angeles has workable components and would allow them to move in 2016, a source tells Jim Trotter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The Chargers, their attorneys, and their financial people are reviewing the framework, but overall they feel there could be a deal to be made for 2016 (link). On Tuesday night, Giants co-owner Steve Tisch said it’s “unlikely” that the Chargers will play in L.A. in 2016.
If the Chargers are going to move this year, they need to decide before start of the league year on March 9th, Trotter tweets. Otherwise, the uncertainty over where the Chargers might play in 2016 could affect free agency.

Mark Davis: Raiders Interested In Other Cities

January 13th, 2016 at 1:04pm CST by Luke Adams

After missing out on the opportunity to relocate to Los Angeles – at least for the time being – Raiders owner Mark Davis confirmed to David Hunn of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Twitter link) that he’s interested in cities besides Oakland.

There’s a good chance the Raiders will have to return to Oakland for at least the 2016 season, since there isn’t a lot of time to put together another viable solution. The team’s lease at O.co Coliseum has expired, but it should be possible to remain there on a year-to-year basis in the short term.

Still, the subtext of the statement issued by the team in the wake of the NFL’s Los Angeles decision suggested that the franchise certainly isn’t tied to Oakland for the long term — in fact, that statement didn’t mention the city at all.

“The Raiders congratulate Stan Kroenke and the Rams on their successful bid for relocation to Los Angeles,” The Raiders announced. “The Raiders will now turn our attention to exploring all options to find a permanent stadium solution. We thank fans throughout the Raider Nation for their unrivaled passion and support.”

According to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link), Davis has grown frustrated with city leaders in Oakland. The Raiders’ top priority is to secure a long-term stadium somewhere, and Davis appears to be losing faith that it will happen in the Bay Area.

Cole suggests that San Antonio will be one market considered by Davis, since the idea of building a stadium between San Antonio and Austin has some appeal to him. Reports have indicated that the Raiders would also take a long look at San Diego if the Chargers relocate to Los Angeles. And, of course, if the Chargers stay in San Diego, the Raiders would have an opportunity to join the Rams in Inglewood a year from now.

One city not on Davis’ list of candidates is St. Louis, according to Hunn, who asked the Raiders owner about that possibility and was told “absolutely not.” That stance shouldn’t concern St. Louis mayor Francis Slay, who said Wednesday that he has “no appetite” for seeking another NFL team after the way the league dealt with the Rams and the city’s stadium proposal (link via The Asociated Press).

If the Raiders do build a new stadium in Oakland or elsewhere, Tuesday’s Los Angeles agreement will ensure that the NFL will provide an extra $100MM to accommodate that project.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.