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Spanos Really Wants L.A., Says Yahoo! Sports
Don, you are correct with your assessment that the Chargers are making good money in San Diego, but two points I'd like to make. 1) The Chargers want to make even MORE money that can only come with a new stadium. 2) Reports suggest that some of the Chargers revenue comes in the form of NFL subsidies. As I stated earlier, NFL owners might want to eliminate small market subsidies. If that happens, the Chargers will want to recoup their losses. Another point that cannot be ignored - if the Chargers stadium ballot initiative fails and a new San Diego stadium doesn't get built, it would make no business sense whatsoever to stay in San Diego if the LA option is available. An NFL team located in LA with a new stadium would be valued at around a billion dollars. Whereas an NFL team located in San Diego with an old stadium wouldn't be worth anywhere close to that. The general opinion among many Chargers fans is that an LA stadium won't get built because of past history, bad economy, etc... I wouldn't put much stock in what happened in the past. Roski is the real deal, as is AEG. Roski already has the land, and will fund the majority of the construction. All he needs is a commitment from a team. That commitment could come in 2012, whether it be the Chargers, Vikings, Jaguars, or possibly another team. Don't get me wrong, I want the Chargers to stay in San Diego, whether it be in a new or old stadium. But I'm not very confident that the Chargers will be here in 2013. The only way I could see the Chargers staying would be if the Vikings, Rams, or Jaguars get to LA first.— September 9, 2010 8:37 p.m.
Spanos Really Wants L.A., Says Yahoo! Sports
Don, I agree with you that in the past there was no consensus to build a stadium in LA. And the AEG plan has yet to be finalized. But lets not forget that AEG is the majority owner of Staples Center - so if anyone has shown ability to get something done, it has been AEG. But looking more closely, I believe that Roski's plan has far fewer obstacles and is further along in the process. In fact, Roski already has the land and environmental studies taken care of. The only thing stopping Roski from groundbreaking has been a lack of commitment from an existing NFL team to move into his stadium. But that will change after the CBA is signed. It's no longer a matter of "if" a stadium will be built in LA, it's a matter of how soon. Once again, in my opinion, everything hinges on the new CBA. There have been reports that certain small market teams receive subsidies from the NFL. But there is talk that NFL owners want to eliminate those subsidies. If the subsidies are removed, teams like the Chargers would look at the potential revenue streams from the LA market very favorably. Furthermore, a small market team that moves to LA with a new stadium in place would increase the value of their franchise dramatically. Reports suggest that a new San Diego stadium initiative will be on the ballot in 2012. If it passes, the Chargers will stay. If it fails, the Chargers would have no reason to stay after 2012, especially if Roski or AEG makes a deal with Spanos. If the Chargers became a lame duck team in San Diego, fans would lose interest and ticket sales would drop. Therefore, even if a stadium isn't yet completed in LA by 2013, the Chargers would have little choice but to move into one of the existing LA stadiums in 2013 and play there until a new stadium is completed. Finally, the key to test the Chargers sincerity will be how large their PR campaign will be regarding the 2012 ballot initiative. It will take a considerable amount of public good will, as well as millions of dollars spent on marketing to persuade the voters to support a new stadium. In addition, the Chargers will need to field a winning team. Looking back at the Petco PR campaign, not only did the Padres buy themselves a playoff contender, but they spent big bucks on a media marketing blitz to persuade voters. It worked for the Padres because the Padres really wanted to stay in San Diego. I'm not yet convinced the Chargers want to stay.— September 9, 2010 2:41 p.m.
Spanos Really Wants L.A., Says Yahoo! Sports
Regarding the LA stadium proposals - Roski's plan now has competition - with the latest proposal coming from AEG - which would build a stadium next to Staples Center. There seems to be momentum building for the downtown location, particularly if the stadium includes a roof, which would allow the location to be used as convention space in addition to a football stadium. As for when a stadium actually gets built, and then gets occupied by an NFL team, it will depend on the collective bargaining agreement between the owners and players, ie, the CBA. I believe the the CBA deal will be done sometime in the fall of 2011. Once the deal is done, owners will know what their revenue projections will be in future years, etc... The two teams with stadium issues that will reach a climax in 2012 are the Chargers and Vikings. If neither team gets a deal approved in 2012 for a new stadium, and with the CBA negotiations out of the way, then I believe we will see both teams moving to LA for the 2013 season. Once a commitment is in place for at least one team to move to LA, only then will groundbreaking for the LA stadium begin. During construction, the teams can play in the Rose Bowl or Coliseum. While I don't believe in conspiracies, I do believe that we can gauge the sincerity of the Chargers by how much effort and money they put into a potential ballot initiative to build a stadium in downtown San Diego. At this point in the process, I'd say the odds are 60-40 in favor of the Chargers moving to LA.— September 9, 2010 1:05 a.m.