Spanos tells league he intends to move from San Diego
NEW YORK — San Diego Chargers owner Dean Spanos told NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and several owners Wednesday that he intends to move the team to Los Angeles, according to a person with direct knowledge of the situation.
Because Spanos has not announced his decision to Chargers staff or elected officials in San Diego and the L.A. area, the person cautioned the decision shouldn’t be regarded as final.
As of late Wednesday, the Rams, who would share a stadium with the Chargers in Inglewood, hadn’t been informed of the development.
While Spanos hasn’t made the decision official — the move doesn’t need to be approved by league owners — an announcement could come in the next day or two.
The Chargers have played 56 seasons in San Diego since their inaugural year in Los Angeles in 1960.
Out of deference to the league, Spanos waited until the NFL’s finance and stadium committees finished their meeting Wednesday to make a final assessment of his options, the person said.
When no last-ditch effort by the NFL to convince Spanos to remain in San Diego materialized at the meeting, the owner moved forward with his decision.
The 31⁄2-hour meeting’s primary focus was the Oakland Raiders’ interest in moving to Las Vegas — and conspicuously not the San Diego situation. The Char-
gers and their representatives were not present at league headquarters.
“There was really little to no discussion on the topic of the Chargers, other than for us to make sure that the membership had the latest reports from the public authorities and so forth,” NFL Executive Vice President Eric Grubman said.
The only movement on the San Diego front was Goodell extending the Chargers’ relocation deadline by two days, until Tuesday, so it wouldn’t conflict with Sunday’s playoff games or the Martin Luther King holiday.
It doesn’t look like the extra time will be needed.
Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts Jr. spoke with the Chargers on Wednesday, but declined to go into much detail. “The Chargers have been keeping me informed and ... I have reason to believe that I may be seeing Dean Spanos at some point on Thursday,” Butts said. “We are prepared to welcome them … if they so choose to come to Inglewood.”
Rams owner Stan Kroenke is building a $2.6-billion stadium in Inglewood at the site of the former Hollywood Park racetrack. The venue, expected to be completed in 2019, will be the centerpiece of a 298-acre sports and entertainment complex.
Last month, NFL owners ratified a lease for the Chargers to pay $1 a year to play at the stadium. The Chargers also signed a nonbinding agreement to lease space in Costa Mesa for a temporary headquarters in the event of a move.
A year ago Thursday, NFL owners met in Houston and by a 30-2 vote selected Kroenke’s Inglewood plan over the rival plan in Carson backed by the Chargers and Raiders. As part of the agreement, the Chargers received a one-year option to join the Rams in L.A., an option that would roll over to the Raiders if the Chargers didn’t act.
The Chargers spent the better part of last year pursuing a combined stadium and convention center in downtown San Diego, partially financed by an increased hotel tax. The NFL had committed an unprecedented $300 million toward a stadium in San Diego. That ballot initiative needed two-thirds approval of San Diego voters, but received just 43% in November.
By all appearances, the Raiders aren’t waiting on a decision by the Chargers. They’re moving forward with Las Vegas, though they haven’t applied for relocation.
A vote by owners on the Raiders is not expected before the annual league meetings in March. “There were no votes today,” Grubman said. “There were no straw votes today, no indication of hands, no polling.”
Grubman said there has been no progress on the stadium front in Oakland.
“We continue to be in touch with the Oakland authorities whenever they want to talk. We’ve been in touch with Fortress at their request several times,” he said of the New York-based investment group backing Ronnie Lott’s bid for an Oakland stadium. “In the absence of that, there’s been no change.”
The committees heard a presentation on potential Las Vegas relocation fees, although no specific amount was discussed. Casino billionaire Sheldon Adelson has been pushing for a Raiders move, and reportedly a stake in the franchise, but there was no agreement involving Adelson presented to owners at the meeting.
“I think the Raiders are looking at this potentially going without Mr. Adelson,” Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney II Rooney said. “The timing of that is still up in the air.”