Chargers seem destined to leave San Diego

Apart from the bright-line rules that were (and weren’t) adopted at the now-concluded annual league meetings, one thing became clear via the chatter among those in attendance:  The Chargers are determined to leave San Diego for Los Angeles.
They haven’t said so publicly, and they likely won’t for months to come.  But enough is being said privately to lead to the inescapable conclusion that the Chargers are destined to escape from the city they’ve called home since 1961.
With public money no longer a viable option in California (or pretty much anywhere) to construct an NFL stadium, the money necessary to build a new building in San Diego won’t be offset by the kind of revenue that justifies the investment.  Instead, it now seems to be far more likely than not that the Chargers will partner with the Raiders in Carson, or that the Chargers will become the second team in the Inglewood stadium that will house the Rams.
It means that the Rams or Raiders will be shut out of the market.  The most common theory making the rounds in Arizona this week had the Rams joining the Chargers and the Raiders possibly filling the void in St. Louis created by the departure of the Rams.
Regardless, 20 years of talk about a team moving to L.A. will soon be ending.  In 2016, it now seems inevitable that the Chargers and another NFL team will be back in Los Angeles.

Source: PFT.com
Author: Mike Florio
Photo: Operation.Sports.com

Chargers’ message to San Diego: Put up or shut up

The Chargers will meet with the committee that has been formed to explore the building of a new stadium in San Diego.  The Chargers also have publicly released their comments to the committee.
In their remarks, the Chargers were direct and blunt (and some would say maybe even a little condescending) regarding their expectations when it comes to any ideas to be proposed by San Diego — and regarding a long-time Plan B that possibly has become Plan A.
“We are keeping a close eye on developments in L.A.,” the Chargers said in their remarks to the committee.  “We do not have a choice but to also monitor and evaluate our options there. Simply put, it would be irresponsible for the Chargers not to be taking every possible step to protect the future of the franchise.”
The Chargers also made clear their belief that 20 years without a team in Los Angeles has helped the franchise make significant inroads there, with 25 percent of the season-ticket holders coming from L.A. County and Orange County.
“Simply put, it would not be fair to the Chargers — a team that has worked for 14 years to find a stadium solution in San Diego County — to allow other teams that themselves abandoned the LA market to now return and gut the Chargers’ local revenue stream,” the Chargers told the committee, which has no power over whether teams other than the Chargers move to L.A.
A full reading of the summary and the entire remarks leads to one conclusion:  The Chargers want San Diego to put up or shut up.  The Chargers definitely don’t want San Diego to simply try to come up with a flimsy, hollow proposal so that the politicians can say an effort was made.
That attitude will make the Chargers leery of any proposal that emerges, quick to point out the flaws and to argue that the politicians are merely trying to ensure that the Chargers, not the people who periodically are up for re-election, will be blamed if the Chargers leave.
It’s all pointing to the Chargers eventually (or sooner) becoming one of the teams to move to L.A, with the other remaining question being whether the other team that moves there is the Rams or the Raiders.

Source: PFT.com
Author: Mike Florio
Photo: OperationSports.com