Following extensive meetings in Houston on Tuesday, NFL owners have apparently decided on the fate of the three teams vying for relocation from their current market.
After initial league-wide votes on the stadium projects in Carson and Inglewood failed to hit the 24-vote threshold to approve relocation and the stadium plans, league owners decided on a compromise plan that was set forth by Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones over the weekend.
The St. Louis Rams and San Diego Chargers have been given permission to relocate to Los Angeles.
https://twitter.com/CharlesRobinson/status/687074243062951936
NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport confirmed this report.
This compromise entails the Rams and Chargers sharing a stadium in Inglewood — an end result that leaves the Raiders out in the cold.
It’s an absolutely stunning development.
Remember, the Chargers and Raiders had set forth their two-team stadium plan for Carson — a plan that was recommended by the league’s committee on relocation. That plan received the endorsement over the Rams-backed plan in Carson.
What is so interesting about the decision on Wednesday is that the Chargers had previously balked at any idea of sharing a stadium with the Rams. It was one of the aspects of these meetings that held back potential support for Inglewood initially.
This vote also gives the Chargers a three-year window to relocate to Los Angeles. They can either move a bit further north in temporary digs for the next few years or wait until a new stadium is built in Inglewood, likely in time for the 2019 season.
The Rams will likely be relocating effective immediately, as reported by Fox Sports NFL insider Alex Marvez:
I'm told @STLouisRams players were just texted by the team to be prepared for news tonight from NFL owners meeting in Houston re: team move
— Alex Marvez (@alexmarvez) January 13, 2016
This doesn’t solve what has been a decades-long problem for the Raiders. As the NFL itself indicated, there is no legitimate plan to build a stadium in Oakland — meaning that Raiders owner Mark Davis may seek alternatives in the coming future.
San Antonio and Santa Clara are two possibilities that have been mentioned in the past.
As part of the end game here, the NFL has reportedly decided to provide the Raiders with additional loan money for a new stadium in their home market:
Raiders will receive additional loan money earmarked for a future stadium in their home market when this becomes official I'm told
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) January 13, 2016
As it is, the Rams are surely going to be playing in Los Angeles next season. It just remains to be seen when the Chargers will join them there.
Los Angeles, the nation’s second-largest media market, has been without a NFL team since 1995.