San Diego Chargers will file for relocation to Los Angeles in January

SI ^ | Sat Oct. 24, 2015

[MinorityRepublican]

The San Diego Chargers will file for relocation to Los Angeles when the NFL opens the application window in January, Mark Fabiani told The Mighty 1090 AM radio show.

“At this point yes, because there's no sign that the other team or teams are not going to file,” said Fabiani, who serves as the Chargers’ special counsel. “Everyone assumes all three teams will file, and in that case we can't afford to lose our market in Los Angeles and Orange County.”

[kingu]

Really? Novel idea to have two major teams sharing a stadium, but with some tweaking it could work.

The Clippers (basketball), Lakers (basketball) and the Kings (Ice Hockey) all share the same facility at the Staples Center in Downtown Los Angeles. In some cases, the facility had to be an ice hockey rink one night, a basketball stadium the next, a basketball stadium for another team, an ice hockey rink, host a major concert, then be again a basketball stadium on consecutive days when both the Lakers and the Clippers were in the playoffs, and the Kings were going for the Stanley Cup. All went flawless. There's some good experience locally at hosting multiple teams in the same venue. Note also that likely these same stadiums will also host teams for others sports and similar swaps will have to happen as well. That said, a third and forth stadium have been proposed - only the stadium in Downtown Los Angeles is unlikely to ever host a NFL franchise yet still get built on the public dime. All the rest are privately financed.

Stadium locations already moving forward: Carson, Torrance. Likely to be built no matter what: Downtown Los Angeles. Probably the best design (yet likely the most awful traffic location) is the Los Angeles Stadium at the Crossroads in Industry (intersection of the 60 FWY and the 57 FWY.)

[Glad2bnuts]

The Chargers should stay in San Diego. Who really would want to be in the LA area anyway?

[LaybackLenny]

Yep. And this guy was their quarterback...

In 1960, Kemp led the Chargers to a Western Division Championship with a 10–4 record. He finished second in the league to Frank Tripucka in passing attempts, completions, and yards (making him and Tripucka the league's first 3,000-yard passers), led the AFL in yards per completion and times sacked, and finished one rushing touchdown short of the league lead. Under Kemp, the Chargers' offense averaged 46 points over its last four games and scored more than 41 points in five of its last nine games. In the 1960 AFL Championship Game, he led the team to field goals on its first two possessions, but after the Houston Oilers posted a touchdown in the second quarter for a 7–6 lead, the Chargers never recovered. (h/t Wikipedia)

I remember watching that first AFL Championship game as a kid. My favorite player (for either team) was Houston's Charlie ("The Human Bowling Ball") Tolar.

[Hugin]

It’s interesting that in the leftie Bay Area, both the Giants and 49ers new stadia were built without any taxpayer money.

[o-n-money]

Then there is the very slight chance we get all three.
_______________________________________________________

You want 3 teams in LA? Why did all the teams leave? Do you think Mexico can support 3 teams?

[combat_boots]

Maybe the Hiltons want the stadium land then. Or, someone does.

[RayChuang88]

In the case of the Giants, for the most part. The only thing the City of San Francisco did was to provide the land at China Basin for the ballpark. And the success is undeniable: four World Series appearances and three World Series championships.

[Perdogg]

[aomagrat]

Bread and Circuses.

[Impy]

I think the Raiders should be the ones to go to LA.

[Dilbert San Diego]

The Chargers have been trying for a few years to get a new stadium built in San Diego. The city has put forth a solid proposal but the Chargers have rejected it.

So the Chargers chose to end any negotiations for a new stadium in San Diego, preferring to now just move to LA and reject staying in San Diego.

The NFL still has to vote on it, as I understand it. It’s possible the NFL would vote to reject a move to LA by the Chargers.

But, LA is a much larger market than San Diego, with more corporate headquarters and people with money to pay personal seat licenses and outrageous prices for season tickets.

In dollars and sense, it might make sense long term for the Chargers to relocate. Short term, I wonder where in the LA area they would play while a new stadium is built. I’ve heard that the LA Coliseum and Rose Bowl are not possibilities. For them to spend a lame duck season or two in San Diego, while the new stadium is built in LA, seems like something they would want to avoid.

[freedumb2003]

>>what market? This is Raiders country.<<

According to the dear departed Al Davis, Hoboken NJ was Raider country.

[discostu]

Woh, an era comes to an end. And a big threat is removed for future stadium negotiations.

[freedumb2003]

>> Unfortunately, too many public officials can be bribed to provide a stadium for more or less nothing.<<

That is NOT the history of NFL (not) in L.A. The ONLY thing L.A. has ever done right was to ask the NFL how much it will pay L.A. to place a team there.

The State isn’t involved at all.

This is blackmail of SD by the Chargers. Expect it to work.

This relocation will not work.

[freedumb2003]

>>Woh, an era comes to an end. And a big threat is removed for future stadium negotiations.<<

I disagree. This is just brinkmanship. SD will cave to the Chargers’ blackmail, as has every other city that threatened to move to L.A.

The NFL owners probably secretly are happy to have L.A. teamless as it keeps all the other teams in their current cities and makes the taxpayers fund more and more upgrades in those cities.

You heard it here first: this move ain’t gonna happen.

[discostu]

I don’t think SD is going to cave. I know the league is happy LA is available as a threat, but eventually all bluffs get called. They’ve gotten like 26 or 27 new or refurbed stadiums out of the LA threat, it’s certainly worked.

[SevenofNine]

That other rumor to the story

I may see Raiders back in SO CAL too LOL!

[Glad2bnuts]

I love the NFL, and have for years. I am one of the few true fans that still remember the 50’s though I was but a child. My mom told of my fury if someone turned the game off, as I would cry “ball game, ball game”. I watched the Ice Bowl, Green Bay as they dominated for my entire infant life. I fell in love with the Rams with George Allen as coach. Now, in decades of insanity, with rule changes and teams fleeing cities, and now NFL Europe I am a hair breadth away from turning it off. THEY ARE KILLING A BEAUTIFUL GAME. Someone has gone insane, power mad and greedy beyond limit. The Chargers are part of my memory, with Bambi running wild. Air Coryell and the best game ever in Miami. Even now with Rivers at QB, they have magic in their hands and don’t even know it.

The NFL was a dream factory but those in charge have no love for it and will squeeze the last dime out of the game. They have so little regard for it, they may as well move on to cattle futures.

I guess with so much going poorly in this country, the least we could have would be sports. Football was the purest of them all. Players were rewarded with temper tantrums, they could take out aggressive behavior on the field and there would be no penalty. Was Butkus fined for biting fingers? When Frank Gifford was nearly killed, was there even a penalty?

Now with a salary cap to protect the owners from themselves they say, players only loyalty is the same as the owners....to the almighty dollar. Satan himself could not conspire to destroy this game any better, then they add PINK....frickin PINK......

Gotta go, PRE-GAME’s on.

[Tau Food]

All I am saying is that if a team wants something financial from the public, then the public should receive an equity interest in the team. In other words, I don’t believe in welfare for billionaires. I know that there are some people who believe that government’s most important function is to assist the wealthy, but I don’t view government that way. If the price is right, I have no problem with the state purchasing an equity interest that will return a profit.

[Uncle Hal]

It was my understanding Hilton named the team the Chargers because he was coming out with a new credit card called “Carte Blanche”. He thought the name chargers would help promote the use of his new card. In fact I had the card for a while in the early 60’s.