Stadium Proposals/Issues/News Thread

[Flash G]

The official period for teams to apply to move to "Farmers Field" in Los Angeles has opened.... but no team has indicated any serious interest... yet.


http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_222...ary?source=rss

[Flash G]

Team source: Chargers' next coaching hiring could be made with L.A. move in mind

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nfl--te...192757488.html

Now that San Diego Chargers head coach Norv Turner has officially been dismissed, a team source said a consideration has to be made that's foreign to other franchises:
Who will play to the Los Angeles market?

As the Chargers (7-9) fired Turner and general manager A.J. Smith on Monday following another disappointing season, there are some unusual assessments that owner Dean Spanos must think through.

Spanos must settle whether the Chargers are going to stay in San Diego (which is his hope) or move to Los Angeles. And Spanos has roughly one year to settle it all.
"Everybody understands that Dean wants to be in San Diego," the team source said. "That has always been his priority."

Whether San Diego voters approve a ballot measure on a new stadium is critical, but so will be upcoming talks with new San Diego Mayor Bob Filner. Shortly after being elected in November, Filner declared that there would be no "sweetheart" deal for the Chargers.

According to multiple sources with an understanding of the Los Angeles and Chargers situation, the earliest the team would move north is 2014. That’s if they ever do. With that in mind, the Spanos family isn’t just hiring a coach to reinvigorate the San Diego fan base; it has to hire a coach who is seemingly a good fit for L.A. That’s why, for all the talk of Andy Reid wanting to coach the Chargers, that’s extremely unlikely.

Despite Reid’s L.A. roots (he grew up there and graduated from Marshall High), he’s not viewed as the type of winner that will grab a fan base that is used to the tradition and glitter of the Lakers, Dodgers, USC football and UCLA basketball. Reid got the Philadelphia Eagles to one Super Bowl and five NFC championship games, but failed to win a title.

How about Mike Holmgren, whom Reid worked for before landing with the Eagles? He has the personality and the California roots. He also has the experience of running the personnel side.

Jon Gruden? Now you’re talking. Gruden may have plenty of chinks in his armor (never developed a quarterback, depends too much on old players, too emotional), but he has personality. He is a star and that could carry the Chargers initially as they wade through the complicated realities of playing in the Rose Bowl (which already has taken steps to be a temporary home of whichever team moves there) for two or three years and trying to sell the team to a wary fan base.

The same could be said for Chip Kelly of Oregon.

Of course, guys like Holmgren, Gruden and Kelly cost serious money. The Chargers have never paid that much for a coach, so making a splashy move also will require a leap of faith for Spanos.

Then again, if you’re talking about moving your team to the City of Angels, you’re already willing to leap.

Spanos can’t do what he did when he tabbed Marty Schottenheimer in 2002 and then Turner in 2007. Schottenheimer and Turner were retreads, guys with NFL head-coaching experience but no overwhelming success.

In Los Angeles, you better have somebody like Joe Torre or Phil Jackson if you expect fans to take you seriously right away.

[A Bolt Diehard]

LA. has already failed with the Faiders and Rams . The Rams can opt out in 2014 so... let`s welcome back the LA Rams. My Bolts are staying put because the jugheads in the city council will realize the millions they would be losing in revenue from the Superbowl rotation . WAKE UP JUGHEADS and stop acting like our pathetic leaders in Washington.

[Bill51]

The same article on the open window for LA is circulating around and the writer doesn't understand that under the NFL rules a team has to prove they can't get something done locally before moving. The Chargers have to get a down vote on a new stadium before they can leave, the Rams need St. Louis to vote down funding the arbitration decision. Nothing will be put on a ballot here this year unless the Chargers want out of San Diego. It would fail miserably.

[ShocKWavE]

I wish everyone would stop wasting their energy being paranoid about the team moving and focus on how to make it work in San Diego. The media are relentless troublemakers, but it is the fans duty to continue to express how much we love our team right here in San Diego.

The more you talk about anything aside from San Diego, the more of an issue it becomes. So stay focused on San Diego!

San Diego Chargers! San Diego Chargers! San Diego Chargers! San Diego Chargers! San Diego Chargers! San Diego Chargers! San Diego Chargers! San Diego Chargers! San Diego Chargers! San Diego Chargers! San Diego Chargers! San Diego Chargers! San Diego Chargers! San Diego Chargers! San Diego Chargers! San Diego Chargers! San Diego Chargers! San Diego Chargers! San Diego Chargers! San Diego Chargers! San Diego Chargers! San Diego Chargers! San Diego Chargers! San Diego Chargers! San Diego Chargers! San Diego Chargers! San Diego Chargers! San Diego Chargers! San Diego Chargers! San Diego Chargers!

[RandyC]

Originally Posted by Bill51

The same article on the open window for LA is circulating around and the writer doesn't understand that under the NFL rules a team has to prove they can't get something done locally before moving. The Chargers have to get a down vote on a new stadium before they can leave, the Rams need St. Louis to vote down funding the arbitration decision. Nothing will be put on a ballot here this year unless the Chargers want out of San Diego. It would fail miserably.

They do not need a vote to show that they failed in their search for a stadium here. In their own words, they spent many millions of dollars and many years trying to get a stadium done and so far have come up short. Heard much on the downtown idea recently?

In my opinion, this is all that is needed to show the NFL they tried. Even if (again IMO) half heartedly.

[Bill51]

Originally Posted by RandyC

They do not need a vote to show that they failed in their search for a stadium here. In their own words, they spent many millions of dollars and many years trying to get a stadium done and so far have come up short. Heard much on the downtown idea recently?

In my opinion, this is all that is needed to show the NFL they tried. Even if (again IMO) half heartedly.

I disagree, the few millions they spent on the PR stadium search wasn't much of an effort at all. How many millions did they just eat on AJ and Norv's contracts? Chump change for NFL owners.

I still think the NFL will want a no vote on a new stadium. It's easy to get on the ballot if they don't care if it passes.

[RandyC]

We agree it was chump change...in my opinion, more a PR move than anything real. But that was not my point. Nowhere does the NFL require a legal vote to declare that a team tried and failed. Everything that the Chargers have said indicates that they they feel that they tried and failed.

[Cbadsurfer]

Originally Posted by Bill51

I

I still think the NFL will want a no vote on a new stadium. It's easy to get on the ballot if they don't care if it passes.

I don't know where you got that crazy idea, but it's absurd. Teams do not have the ability to put stadium requests up for a vote. If no governmental and/or private party has any inclination to build a stadium, then there is nothing to vote on. Stadium proposals only get on the ballot when there is a legitimate proposal on the table that will entail the use of public funds or guarantees, and has the backing of the local governing entities, ie. city council and mayor. There is no proposal for voters to decide on, and the NFL isn't going to block a move on that basis.

[Bill51]

Originally Posted by Cbadsurfer

Teams do not have the ability to put stadium requests up for a vote. If no governmental and/or private party has any inclination to build a stadium, then there is nothing to vote on. Stadium proposals only get on the ballot when there is a legitimate proposal on the table that will entail the use of public funds or guarantees, and has the backing of the local governing entities, ie. city council and mayor. There is no proposal for voters to decide on, and the NFL isn't going to block a move on that basis.

This is hilarious, you must not be a regular voter or have any memory of local politics. Lot of ridiculous things get on the ballot.

The Chargers have more than enough political clout to get anything on the ballot and as we saw in the Petco vote the terms are not necessarily binding. Please study up on the details, you couldn't be more wrong.

The mayor and the team will agree to put something on the ballot, even if they want it to get voted down, before the Chargers leave.