Dean Spanos

Chargers, City Officials To Discuss Stadium

February 6th, 2016 at 2:10pm CST by Sam Robinson

Already, Dean Spanos and San Diego mayor Kevin Faulconer have engaged in phone conversations regarding the Chargers’ future in the city and jointly met with San Diego county supervisor Ron Roberts. But team and city officials will meet this week to discuss the stadium project that would keep the Chargers in San Diego long-term, Eric Williams of ESPN.com reports.

The sides will discuss stadium proposals at Mission Valley, Calif., where Qualcomm Stadium is located, and a downtown initiative, with Wil
liams pointing out the parties need to agree on a site within the next two months to put the issue on the November ballot for a crucial vote on public funding.

San Diego’s proposal for a $1.1 billion Mission Valley stadium, made public midway through last season while the Chargers were fixated on Los Angeles, includes $200MM from the NFL and $350MM from the city, among other expenses. Under Faulconer’s proposal, a public-money spending cap would be in place and force the Chargers to cover any cost overruns the project encounters.

Conversely, the Chargers would prefer a downtown site alongside the Padres’ Petco Park. JMI Reality, per Williams, laid out plans for a $1.4 billion retractable-roof stadium for the Chargers.

An obstacle obviously comes from the vote requiring public funds to be used.

The team hopes to use the citizens initiative effort, Williams writes, to bypass environmental concerns centering around the Mission Valley site and streamline this effort. This process would skirt the potential legal issues by being
exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act. Signatures of 67,000 registered voters, however, would be required by April 1 to ignite this process.

According to Williams, the Chargers assembled the same legal, land-use and financial team the organization deployed to craft a fully entitled site in Carson, Calif., last year.

Either way, the Chargers having a future in San Diego beyond 2016 will require significant development in the near future. Already agreeing to share Stan Kroenke‘s Inglewood site as leverage in these talks, the Chargers’ effort in San Diego will help determine how the Raiders proceed.

Photo courtesy USA Today Sports Images

Fallout From Chargers’ 2016 Decision

January 29th, 2016 at 9:04pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

In response to Dean Spanos’ decision on Friday to keep the Chargers in San Diego for at least another season, Mayor Kevin Faulconer and Ron Roberts of the County Board of Supervisors jointly issued a statement (Twitter link via Faulconer):

“We appreciate Mr. Spanos’ commitment to staying in San Diego for the 2016 season to work with the region on a stadium solution. We look forward to discussing his vision for a new San Diego home for the Chargers, and will be working with him and our negotiating team on a fair and viable plan to put before voters. We have agreed to meet again in the near future.”

Rams owner Stan Kroenke, whom Spanos could eventually join in Los Angeles if he’s unable to reach an agreement with San Diego, also released a statement (Twitter links – 1, 2, 3 – courtesy of the LA Daily News’ Vincent Bonsignore):

“The Los Angeles Rams have reached an agreement with the San Diego Chargers to join us in the new Inglewood Stadium. If they choose to exercise their option to relocate within the next year, we look forward to partnering with the Chargers in Inglewood, but the decision of course is Dean’s to make.”

Spanos’ decision to stay or leave will obviously come down to whether he can get a new stadium built in San Diego. The Chargers would prefer their next venue be a joint stadium and convention center in downtown San Diego, reports ESPN’s Eric D. Williams, who notes that the team isn’t a fan of its current location, Mission Valley.

In an effort to move forward on their stadium/convention center plan, the Chargers are expected to create a citizens’ initiative in San Diego for a November ballot, according to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (Twitter link). If the Chargers get the necessary 60,000 signatures from voters, that would enable them to bypass requirements set by the California Environmental Quality Act, per Cole. Should the Bolts get their initiative on the ballot this year, the deadline on their LA decision could extend to 2018, write Kevin Acee and David Garrick of the San Diego Union-Tribune, and the extra year would allow for legal challenges or a second election.

Regardless of what happens long term, we know the Chargers will spend the 2016 season in San Diego, which has seemingly caused mixed reactions among some of their players. While franchise quarterback Philip Rivers is excited – “It’s good to know we get to make another run at it here,” he said, per Michael Gehlken of the Union-Tribune – a couple of his teammates came off as less enthusiastic about the news, even tweeting ultimatums to the club’s fans.

“The stadium better be packed. The fans got what they wanted,” receiver Keenan Allen wrote.

“Every home game better be sold out,” linebacker Melvin Ingram added.

According to ESPN’s attendance numbers, the Chargers had the 18th-most fans (a total of 534,180) at their games during the 2015-16 season and finished 22nd in capacity percentage (94.6). The figures rank as the Chargers’ highest in both categories since 2009.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

West Notes: Los Angeles, 49ers, Maclin

January 16th, 2016 at 3:18pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Carson presentation drew laughs from the owners once Disney Chairman Robert Iger mentioned how he’d paid the owners plenty of money over the years. That comment, and a Jerry Jones joke following Iger’s exit from the room, helped escalate the downward-trending Carson initiative’s demise, according to Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times.

“He said he paid us. Last time I checked, that money is coming from Disney shareholders, not him,” Jones told his fellow owners during Tuesday’s relocation summit in Houston, per Farmer.

The owners voted 19-13 on whether their votes would be secret. After two votes, the Inglewood project received 21, three shy of the majority needed to relocate the Rams.

Roger Goodell then ushered Stan Kroenke, Dean Spanos and Mark Davis into a private room for an hour-long negotiation. Upon the trio’s return, Davis announced the Raiders were pulling out of the race, Farmer reports. The agreement that gives the Chargers a one-year window to decide on relocating to Inglewood had been discussed for more than six months.

Farmer also notes Panthers owner Jerry Richardson, who had been vocal about his support for the Carson project and helped attach Iger to it, was silent most of the day.

Here is some more on Los Angeles and the latest on the Western-stationed franchises.

With economists estimating the Chargers can expect three to five times more revenue in Los Angeles than in San Diego, a source tells Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune “at least 10 teams” would be lining up to take the joint-tenant deal in Inglewood if the Chargers wouldn’t. Acee also reports there’s talk of a bit more than the $100MM the NFL offered to help keep the Raiders and Chargers in their respective cities available to the Chargers if they were to make things work in San Diego. Spanos could leverage San Diego with the deal the Chargers would be in line to receive alongside the Rams if in fact San Diego is serious about keeping the franchise, Acee writes. But San Diego now will entertain the notion of bringing another team to the city.
Patriots president Jonathan Kraft said Kroenke will be spending between $3 billion and $3.5 billion to relocate the Rams, factoring in the $550MM relocation fee and the Rams’ new stadium (via Ben Volin of the Boston Globe, on Twitter).
Several members of the 49ers‘ staff from last season has reportedly packed up and moved their things out of the team’s facility, Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com reports (on Twitter). Chip Kelly met with defensive coordinator Eric Mangini, per Maiocco, but the future of the San Francisco coaching staff is highly uncertain at this point. Kelly will meet with running backs coach Tom Rathman next week, Maiocco tweets. The former 49ers fullback’s been on the 49ers’ staff since 2009 and had to instruct one of the most injury-ravaged units in the NFL this season.
Former Eagles quarterbacks coach Ryan Day is under consideration for the job of 49ers offensive coordinator, ESPN reports (via Maiocco). A former New Hampshire player under Kelly, Day joined Kelly with the Eagles last season after being Boston College’s OC in 2013-14.
Both Eagles defensive line coaches, Jerry Azzinaro and Mike Dawson, are the most likely coaches to follow Kelly from Philadelphia, Maiocco reports. Azzinaro’s been Kelly’s D-line coach for the past seven seasons, doing so at Oregon from 2009-12 and with the Eagles since 2013.
Maiocco also reports (via Twitter) the 49ers could be considering Buccaneers tight ends coach Jon Embree for a spot on their staff if Dirk Koetter doesn’t retain him. The Colorado head coach in 2011-12, the 50-year-old Embree’s coached tight ends for the Chiefs, Washington, Browns and Bucs since 2006. He’s been with Tampa Bay since 2014.
A mutual interest in acquiring players with length and size could help Kelly and GM Trent Baalke work well together with the 49ers, the San Francisco Chronicle’s Eric Branch notes.
The Chiefs declared Jeremy Maclin active for today’s game against the Patriots, but their top wideout reportedly had trouble walking during the week of preparation, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (on Twitter). Maclin did not practice this week due to the high-ankle sprain he suffered last Saturday against the Texans.

NFL Owners Expect Chargers To Move To L.A.

January 13th, 2016 at 11:39am CST by Luke Adams

With the Rams set to move to Los Angeles for the 2016 season, the Chargers now face a decision on whether or not to join them. The team will have just over two months to come up with a plan for 2016, but according to multiple reports, NFL owners expect Dean Spanos‘ franchise to ultimately make the move to Inglewood.

While Spanos will have to overcome the initial shock of losing out on the Carson project, the thinking among owners is that, once he has a chance to process the Inglewood opportunity, he’ll “pounce,” writes Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. According to Florio, the Chargers have already begun working directly with the league to finalize the parameters of an Inglewood deal.

That detail is important — as Florio notes, the NFL will be involved in the negotiations, if necessary. Stan Kroenke has reportedly promised the rest of the league’s owners that he’ll be reasonable and won’t play hardball when it comes to taking on a partner – or a tenant – and it sounds like the NFL will be keeping a close eye on the situation to make sure the talks go smoothly.

Eric D. Williams of ESPN.com and Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune also suggest it’s more likely that the Chargers will make the move to L.A. rather than staying in San Diego. Acee tweets that, at best, it’s 50/50 that the team will try to make a go of it in San Diego, and he acknowledges that even that estimate may be optimistic. “99 out of 100 would take this [Inglewood] deal,” one source tells Florio.

It’s still possible that Spanos will have the Chargers play at least one more year in San Diego in the hopes that the city can improve its stadium proposal by the end of 2016. But there are plenty of incentives for Kroenke and the Rams to try to secure a partner in Inglewood sooner rather than later.

As Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com reported earlier today, and as Florio confirms, the Rams can’t sell PSLs and stadium naming rights, among other things, until February 15, 2017, unless they bring a second team aboard before then. If they were to strike a deal with the Chargers, the Rams can begin selling those premium products right away.

Florio passes along a couple other items of note related to the L.A. situation, writing that owners were “blown away” by the Inglewood presentation in Houston, with one source suggesting that if the Inglewood proposal was like watching Star Wars, the Carson plan was like watching “a home movie from the ’70s.” Florio also reports that there’s a strong belief Bengals owner Mike Brown was one of two owners who voted against the Inglewood plan.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Los Angeles Rumors: 1/11/16

January 11th, 2016 at 3:12pm CST by Luke Adams

3:12pm: A consensus is building within the league for the Rams and Chargers to share a stadium in Inglewood, according to Sam Farmer and Nathan Fenno of the Los Angeles Times. Multiple league officials and owners not involved with either the Inglewood or Carson proposals have made note of that momentum, with one owner (whose preference hasn’t been previously reported or stated) telling the Times that the Carson plan isn’t even close to being as strong as Inglewood’s.

According to Farmer and Fenno, league insiders think Chargers owner Dean Spanos doesn’t want to have to turn his back on a partner – Mark Davis and the Raiders – but there’s a belief that the issue can be resolved during this week’s meetings in Houston.

While the majority of owners favor a plan that would land the Rams and Raiders in Inglewood, one owner acknowledged that “we just can’t solve all three stadium problems in one fell swoop.” So this week’s discussion will be crucial, as the NFL’s 32 owners debate how to clear some of the hurdles involved in the plan.

11:34am: The NFL’s team owners are meeting in Houston this week to discuss the Los Angeles situation, and in a perfect world, a vote would take place on Wednesday to determine the fate of the Rams, Chargers, and Raiders. However, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, there’s a chance that owners could postpone that vote in order to finalize the details of their preferred outcome.

Florio cites a source with “intimate knowledge of the dynamics” who says there’s a 25% or 30% chance of that vote being postponed, perhaps for a few weeks at most, which means it’s still more likely than not that some sort of resolution is agreed upon in the coming days. But no matter what solution the NFL’s owners decide, there figure to be plenty of roadblocks to overcome, particularly if the league wants to move forward with a new proposal like the one Jerry Jones has reportedly suggested.

As we wait to see what happens in Houston this week, here are a few more details to keep in mind:

For a Rams/Chargers partnership to work, Chargers owner Dean Spanos would have to overcome his distrust for Rams owner Stan Kroenke, and would have to believe that Kroenke would give the Chargers a fair shot if they play in Inglewood, says Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link).
Additionally, a Rams/Chargers team-up would put the Raiders in an interesting spot. In his previously-linked piece, Florio suggests that Mark Davis‘ franchise would benefit from the deal enough financially that it would be more viable for the team to build a new stadium, presumably in Oakland. However, Cole indicates that Davis and the Raiders may resume their exploration of a move to San Antonio if the team’s L.A. plan falls through. According to Cole (video link), Davis has a parcel of land between San Antonio and Austin that could house a stadium, and Jerry Jones may not have as much leverage to keep another franchise out of Texas if he essentially helped push that franchise out of its L.A. deal.
Peter King of TheMMQB.com reports a few interesting Los Angeles nuggets in his latest column, writing that the Chargers are “heavy favorites” to move to L.A., and would likely be one of two teams to relocate. According to King, the NFL would allow teams to pay the $550MM relocation fee at a rate of $64.5MM annually over 10 years, which obviously accounts for interest.
King also weighs in on the issue of the odd team out, suggesting that if the Rams and Chargers move to L.A., the Raiders would be set up with “one of the most golden of parachutes.” As an official familiar with the league’s thinking explains: “Whoever is not going to Los Angeles will be generously taken care of. The league will create a safety net for that team.” If that’s the case, the franchise may not need to create extra leverage by exploring a relocation to San Antonio, as noted above.

Latest On NFL’s Potential Return To LA

January 9th, 2016 at 7:00pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

A return to Los Angeles in 2016 is looking likelier than ever for the NFL. In a 48-page report distributed Saturday to the league’s 32 teams, commissioner Roger Goodell criticizes the respective stadium proposals in St. Louis, Oakland and San Diego, referring to them as “unsatisfactory and inadequate,” according to the LA Times’ Sam Farmer and Nathan Fenno. Further, in the opinion of Goodell, each market had “ample opportunity but did not develop their proposals sufficiently to ensure the retention of its NFL team.” The Rams, Raiders and Chargers agree, having applied for LA relocation earlier this week.

Last month, the city of St. Louis approved financing on a plan to construct a $1.1 billion riverfront stadium. That proposal includes $300MM from the league, whose policy is to spend a maximum of $200MM on stadiums. Goodell subsequently called the notion of using $300MM of the league’s money “fundamentally inconsistent with the NFL’s program of stadium financing.” The Rams, for their part, said in their application to move that no NFL team would accept the St. Louis deal, Farmer and Fenno write.

Oakland has not made a formal stadium proposal, on the other hand, while San Diego – like St. Louis – has proposed a $1.1 billion stadium. At $200MM in funding from the NFL, the potential San Diego stadium doesn’t exceed the league’s maximum. The problem is that a public vote to OK $350MM of city funding isn’t scheduled until June. That clearly won’t work, as league owners will gather next week in Houston – Jan. 12-13 – to vote on possible relocation.

The Raiders and Chargers have a proposal to share a stadium in Carson, and the Rams want their own facility in Inglewood. In order for any of the teams to move, they’ll need 24 approval votes from league ownership. Goodell’s report indicates LA is capable of supporting two teams, which ostensibly helps both the Chargers and Raiders. However, the Cowboys have proposed a measure for ownership vote that would see the Chargers head to Inglewood with the Rams instead of Carson with the Raiders, CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora reports (Twitter link). La Canfora adds (on Twitter) that many owners would prefer to see the Rams and Chargers as the two LA-bound teams. However, as Daniel Kaplan of the Sports Business Journal points out (via Twitter), Chargers owner Dean Spanos rejected the idea of partnering with Rams owner Stan Kroenke in a letter to the LA committee last month. At least for now, Spanos seems committed to teaming with the Raiders’ Mark Davis.

For any potential LA scenario to come to fruition, all three clubs must sign final economic term sheets for relocation by Monday, per La Canfora (Twitter link).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Breer’s Latest: Dolphins, Gronk, Cowboys, Texans

December 5th, 2015 at 3:30pm CST by Sam Robinson

Dan Campbell‘s decision to jettison both his coordinators, with OC Bill Lazor being the second to go, as an interim coach likely stemmed from the tough-minded instructor’s dismay at the Dolphins being referred to as a “finesse team in a power division,” Albert Breer of NFL.com reports.

Miami ranks 27th in rushing yards per game but sixth in yards per carry at 4.6 and attempted just 23 combined runs the past two games. This led to a sense that Lazor was losing his players, per Breer.

Lazor and Ryan Tannehill began to have a less-than-ideal QB-OC relationship, and Breer now notes Campbell will take a more involved role in the Fins’ offensive approach. So, Lamar Miller will probably see more touches going forward.

Here are some more notes from the veteran NFL scribe.

Rob Gronkowski‘s league-high five offensive-pass interference penalties stem from teams alerting officials to the Patriots‘ brand of pick routes against an increasing amount of man coverage, with Gronk’s size making separation at route stems noticeable. Defensive coordinators are torn on the degree of the All-Pro tight end’s level of infraction, with one saying “He pushes off on every play” and another categorizing the physical performer’s penalties as a product of his size. “It just looks extreme with him, because of size and strength. A 180-pound dude pushing off is different [than] a 260-pound dude pushing off,” the anonymous DC told Breer. Another coordinator falls in the middle of these characterizations, noting the Patriots’ volume of pick routes makes it logical they should be on the receiving end of the most OPI flags.
With Tony Romo set for his age-36 season in 2016 and coming off more severe collarbone trouble, the Cowboys will explore taking a quarterback in the first round and signing a veteran, Breer reports. Romo being the starter for the foreseeable future gives the Cowboys some flexibility here by not having to reach for a player they don’t think can take the reins.
The Los Angeles relocation project continues to point toward the Chargers and Rams, with Breer noting Dean Spanos carries the political capital in the owners’ eyes and Stan Kroenke possessing the finances to make this transition work.
Bill O’Brien‘s cultivating a reputation as a players’ coach in leading the Texans, permitting open social media use and organizing a 12-player leadership council, Breer notes. Houston’s now tied for first in the AFC South with Indianapolis, but as far back as the Texans’ blowout loss in Miami in late October, players were behind O’Brien. “He’s not the problem. Very cool coach to play for and everyone enjoys the way he treats us,” one Texan told Breer after that 44-26 defeat.
In projecting franchise tag figures for next year, Breer also gives predictions of players potentially being tagged. Moving past long-rumored names like Von Miller and Muhammad Wilkerson, NFL executives told Breer players like Josh Norman, Janoris Jenkins, Russell Okung, Mike Daniels and Kirk Cousins are tag candidates.

Latest On Los Angeles

November 22nd, 2015 at 5:46pm CST by Sam Robinson

A process that seemed headed toward an inevitable conclusion’s starting to at least show some inconsistency in its timeline. The NFL may not return to the Los Angeles market in 2016, with Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweeting the three-team pursuit’s encountered “gridlock” in terms of having a team there by next season.

Rapoport notes the league still hopes to hold a relocation vote in May 2016, although that is now uncertain, but hears from multiple sources that 2017 may be when LA reacquires a franchise.

Here is some more on the Rams, Chargers and Raiders’ LA jostle.

Rams owner Stan Kroenke is willing to help broker a deal to keep the Chargers and Raiders in San Diego and Oakland, respectively, according to Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune. Acee adds that the Rams and Chargers’ decision-makers will conduct some kind of negotiation about playing together in Inglewood, where Kroenke’s project is further along, but notes the NFL will likely try to appeal to the three owners’ sense of humanity and persuade at least one of them to remain in their current markets. With Dean Spanos‘ son living in San Diego and working in the Chargers’ organization, Spanos could be the easiest to persuade, Acee writes.
St. Louis city comptroller Darlene Green will vote against the latest financing plan for a new St. Louis stadium due to viewing it as “fiscally irresponsible,” the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. Green, one of three members of the city’s Board of Estimate and Apportionment, has been critical of the $1 billion stadium plan that calls for the city to cover approximately $145MM of the costs.

Extra Points: San Diego, Hardy, NFLPA

November 20th, 2015 at 9:52pm CST by Rob DiRe

The city of San Diego is looking more and more like they will lose the Chargers in the near future, but Kevin Acee of the San Diego Tribune hopes that the organization retiring LaDainian Tomlinson’s jersey could save the team. He writes that team chairman Dean Spanos has a soft spot for his future Hall of Fame running back, and that an emotional moment of honoring him could be the impetus for a change of heart and new commitment to keep the Chargers in San Diego.

Albert Breer of the NFL Network touches on many topics in his latest column for NFL.com, providing a few more details on Greg Hardy‘s absence from a Cowboys team meeting, and noting that the NFL will send a contingent to Mexico City for the second time in three weeks, with an eye toward getting Azteca Stadium NFL-ready for a 2016 game.
The NFL’s general counsel Jeff Pash confirmed the the league and player’s union are having substantive talks regarding player discipline, reports Mark Maske of the Washington Post (via Twitter). In the talks, the NFL is still against including any third-party arbitration.
Pash did make a statement over the status of the negotiations, according to Maske (via Twitter). “I don’t think we’ll get it done tomorrow. I do think… we can get there.”

Latest On Los Angeles Relocation

June 30th, 2015 at 6:54pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

In the latest development that could eventually lead to the NFL’s return to Los Angeles, Raiders owner Mark Davis and Chargers owner Dean Spanos spent Tuesday in LA meeting with Mayor Eric Garcetti and other officials regarding their joint plan to build a stadium in Carson, Calif., according to Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times.

The respective outlooks in Oakland and San Diego, the cities for the Raiders and Chargers, currently appear bleak. Businessman Floyd Kephart’s stadium proposal to keep the Raiders in Oakland has not been looked on positively, per Farmer, who notes that the Chargers don’t believe they can legally get a stadium initiative on the ballot in San Diego until the tail end of 2016 at the earliest. Moreover, the Chargers don’t have confidence that a stadium initiative would be well received by the San Diego community.

Further complicating matters is that the Chargers and Raiders aren’t the only teams eying California-based relocation. Rams owner Stan Kroenke has his sights set on Inglewood and is competing with the the other two teams’ Carson plans. The league would like a pair of franchises in LA as early as 2016, which would make at least one of the Chargers, Raiders or Rams the odd club out.

In Missouri, Rep. Jay Barnes asked a judge Tuesday to block Gov. Jay Nixon from working on plans for a new stadium in St. Louis, the Associated Press reported. Barnes and other lawmakers claim that the plans for a new stadium are illegal because the hypothetical facility wouldn’t be located next to St. Louis’ convention center, which state law requires.

“The governor does not have the authority to spend taxpayer dollars for an illegal purpose,” said Barnes.

If the Rams do ultimately gain league approval to relocate, Farmer writes that the deep-pocketed Kroenke wouldn’t have any difficulty financing his $2 billion planned stadium.

It’s currently unknown when there will be a resolution for the three teams, according to Farmer, who lists the end of the regular season, Super Bowl week and March’s owners meetings as potential times for owners to vote on proposals by Davis, Spanos and Kroenke. For its part, the league is hoping only two of the Raiders, Chargers and Rams apply for relocation, although it appears likely that all three will.

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