Bring back the Rams or Chargers, but not the Raiders

Rams owner Stan Kroenke’s might have a “plan B” to take the Rams to San Diego or Oakland, if he isn’t allowed to go to Los Angeles.

Like Cleveland, Houston and Baltimore did, leave the name with the home city and start a new franchise like the successful Baltimore Ravens, Jacksonville Jaguars and Indianapolis Colts did when they moved the franchise.

However NFL owners are reportedly lukewarm about approving the Raiders return to Los Angeles, and support amongst team bosses for a joint Rams-Chargers deal was growing according to a Los Angeles Times report.

Chargers owner Dean Spanos had rejected a stadium share with the Rams last month, rejecting overtures from Kroenke in a terse two-paragraph letter to Los Angeles officials. The Raiders and Rams both left Los Angeles after the 1994 season. “No one is doing this to encourage clubs moving from Oakland, San Diego or St. Louis to Los Angeles”.

– Moved to Los Angeles in 1946, where they remained until 1995, when frustration over an inability to get a new stadium built prompted the team to move to St. Louis. A development that will make those in Oakland who felt that if Los Angeles failed that the Raiders would be forced to make things work to stay in their current home.

That is particularly stark news to St. Louis, which has approved a $400 million contribution to a $1.1 billion stadium it hoped would keep the Rams locked in St. Louis.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, all 32 National Football League owners will meet in Houston to determine the fate of three teams.

Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis, shown before his team’s December 13 game, has continued to praise the Raiders’ fans but not their stadium.

It looks like the Chargers and Rams are headed for a marriage in Inglewood, if you believe the rumors, and that means very bad news for San Diego football fans. A San Diego City and County proposal for a $1.1 billion stadium at Mission Valley is not considered viable by league officials and owners because of concerns about the legality of an expedited environmental review process and the fact that the earliest a vote on public funding for the stadium could be held is next June. The Raiders’ lease could run through 2024. During the 2014 season, the Raiders generated just 45 percent of the league’s average local revenue.

All three teams have history and fan support in the city, and the franchises are eager to capitalize on the theoretically boundless wealth and attention to be found under Hollywood’s bright lights.

Any NFL teams that try to move to San Diego in the future will be shut down by the all-powerful Spanos and Kroenke partnership, who won’t want to compete with anyone else in southern California.