NFL To Los Angeles: Who Is Making The Move?
The race is on. After 20 years of not having an NFL team, Los Angeles might not only have one, but two NFL franchises by 2016. The question is which NFL teams are going to call L.A. their home by the 2016 season?
Will it be the return of the Rams? Stan Kroenke, owner of the Rams, has the money and more importantly the land. Kroenke is holding onto some prime real estate in Inglewood that he plans to turn into an two-team, 80,000 seat, stadium.
Will it be the Raiders? The Chargers? The city of Carson just gathered over 15,000 signatures in a petition to put the stadium on the city ballot for a public vote. Carson is proposing a $1.7 billion dollar stadium that will house not only the Raiders, but also the Chargers, making these two fierce division rivals roommates.
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But what is the right fit? One of these three teams is making a triumphant return to Los Angeles, but what team returning makes the most sense? And yes at one point or another all three of these teams called L.A. home with the Chargers playing at the Coliseum in 1960.
Right off the bat, the Carson Stadium is problematic for one key reason, housing division rivals. True, the Jets and Giants both play at MetLife stadium, yet they are not division rivals. In fact, they only have met twelve times during the regular season. Scheduling conflicts would arise and there would have to be conference realignment in order to make this work. Secondly, the rivalry between the Chargers and Raiders not among the most civil when it comes to fan interaction. There has been numerous accounts of fan violence during Charger-Raider match ups. Security is often doubled if not tripled during these games. Making these two teams share a stadium could escalate the problem that is already out of hand.
Nov 9, 2014; Glendale, AZ, USA; St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke on the sidelines prior to the game against the Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium. The Cardinals defeated the Rams 31-14. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
The Rams on the other hand are in a favorable position. Kroenke has the land, money, and the vision. If his stadium is the one to be built, there would be no need for conference realignment. His Rams are in the NFC West, and if the AFC West Raiders or Chargers decide to make the move, then the situation would not be unlike the Jets and Giants playing at MetLife. The Chargers seem like the logical second team for Kroenke’s stadium. They would only have to drive two hours up the 5 freeway. Yet the large fan base of Raider fans in the south land would not mind if the Silver and Black made a return.
Of course, all this is just speculation. There could be two teams here by 2016, or the cities of Oakland, San Diego and St. Louis could all retain their teams with lucrative stadium deals. This is highly unlikely but that is the worst-case scenario. Best case L.A. could have 2 teams playing on Sundays. It would be like 1991 all over again, to keep up with the fad, what is old is now new again.