Despite "significant progress in recent months" on NFL stadium proposals in Inglewood and Carson, Calif., there "will not be a stadium vote at the owners meetings in May, and it probably will be a minimum of six months before the league decides which plan to support," according to Sam Farmer of the L.A. TIMES. NFL Exec VP/Business Ventures Eric Grubman, the league's "point man on L.A., dismissed conjecture that a vote of owners is imminent." He said, "That's based on the fact there's been an awful lot of progress made on the two sites in Los Angeles, and it's beginning to be tangible." Grubman added, "We're not planning for a vote in May or any time soon. We have a process. It's deliberate. There are steps that need to be taken, and I think that's much more likely to be later in this calendar year at the soonest." Farmer notes Grubman at last month's owners meeting "conducted an hourlong presentation to bring owners up to speed on the L.A. situation," and L.A. "again will be one of the topics" at May's meeting. Grubman "plans to have representatives of the Inglewood and Carson plans make their own general presentations, though the briefings are not expected to be too detailed." Rams Owner Stan Kroenke's architects have been working on his proposed Inglewood stadium plan "for the better part of a year," while the Raiders and Chargers have been "collaborating on their combined vision" in Carson for the last six weeks. The NFL is "simultaneously looking at the current home markets of the Rams, Chargers and Raiders, and what those cities are doing to keep their teams" (L.A. TIMES, 4/7).
YOU STAY CLASSY: The AP's Bernie Wilson noted San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer's stadium advisory committee is "scheduled to hold a conference call" today with Grubman, who will "then meet in San Diego with a handful of group members" next Tuesday. Committee Chair Adam Day yesterday said, "They've been very open and candid with us, wanting to kick the tires and find out what we're like as a committee. We're a serious group committed to solving this problem and we're working hard to develop a fair and workable financing plan.'' Day added that he has "read Grubman's comments that the NFL wants the Chargers and other teams considering moving to Los Angeles to try to find a solution in their home markets first." Day: "Our emphasis aligns closely with that sentiment. We want to find a way to make it work. We hope the NFL will be an honest broker in making sure that the city and team can negotiate a good deal.'' He added that he and other advisory group members "have heard suggestions" that Chargers Special Counsel Mark Fabiani "will reject whatever financing plan the panel recommends to Faulconer." Day: "I sincerely hope that that's not the case" (AP, 4/6). In San Diego, Jonathan Horn reports the NFL hired research firm Convention, Sports & Leisure to send surveys to more than 100,000 Chargers fans yesterday "to gauge interest in replacing the nearly 50-year-old Qualcomm Stadium in Mission Valley." The firm "has sent similar surveys to fans" in L.A., St. Louis, and Oakland. The survey "gives a glimpse as to what could be in store should personal seat licenses be sold, including cost, interest rates and payment plans" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 4/7).
