The former football executive spearheading efforts by the San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders to jointly build a stadium in Carson said Tuesday he’s “absolutely certain” the teams will be based in the Los Angeles area by 2019, but National Football League executives were more cautious.
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Dean Spanos, owner of the San Diego Chargers and Mark Davis, owner of the Oakland Raiders, pitched other NFL owners this week during a special update meeting for the Los Angeles market.
However, when Policy was asked whether the Carson project solves issues for three teams, including the Rams (assuming the stadium plan becomes “actionable”), he said, “I’m not being permitted to talk about St. Louis, but I will say this: If they go with Carson and the Chargers and Raiders, it accommodates the goals of the NFL”.
The man whose job it is to sell the NFL on the idea of building a stadium in Carson said the Chargers will be in LA by 2019. The Chargers seem to be the team closest to ending their relationship with the local council, with the help of the NFL making it as difficult as possible for the city of San Diego to put up a good, hard-to-refuse offer.
“The Raiders and Chargers are committed to L.A., and they’ve spent a lot of money”, Policy said.
“What’s real, what’s not, what can we take on – that’s what’s been missing and we’re hoping to get it and then make decisions accordingly”, Cappio said.
The Rams contend that the St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission (CVC) defaulted on its obligation to keep the Edward Jones Dome among the top tier stadiums in the NFL.
Yet the unresolved topic that just about everyone is waiting on a resolution on is whether or not they will have a team in St. Louis after 2015.
The team is awaiting further medical tests on Thomas, their ultra-durable Pro Bowl left offensive tackle who injured his right leg Monday when massive rookie nose tackle Danny Shelton inadvertently rolled up on it during an 11-on-11 drill.
City officials have said they are willing to lease public land for a stadium and pay for infrastructure costs, but a lack of financial resources remains a stumbling block on both sides of the negotiating table.
There’s something else that could come out of this week’s meeting: a plan allowing Los Angeles fans and interested companies in the market to reserve season tickets for whatever team (or teams) ends up moving there in 2016. Or perhaps a solution could be reached for one or more of them in their current markets, though Oakland has not submitted a viable plan to keep the Raiders.
“We will not have an election in January unless we have a final deal that has been agreed to”, Faulconer said. “I am not sure who is the most frustrated at this point – the Raiders, the NFL, the fans or us”.
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“This just fits”, Policy said. “Like the other project, it was a chance to show the owners the NFL’s opportunities in Los Angeles and what can be done”, Demoff said. The league was believed to be considering Los Angeles, but this year’s draft in Chicago and “Draft Town” – an NFL-themed party at Grant Park – drew huge crowds, impressing the league.
