Chargers Special Counsel Mark Fabiani on Friday said that the team "plans to file relocation papers" for L.A. "despite a proposed initiative creating hope for a downtown stadium this week and Gov. Jerry Brown possibly improving prospects for one in Mission Valley," according to David Garrick of the SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE. Fabiani during an interview on XEPRS-AM said that the Chargers "plan to formally ask the NFL in January for permission to move." Fabiani said that the primary motive "was the Chargers fully expecting" the Rams and Raiders "to do the same thing, contending the Chargers can’t afford to lose" the roughly 25% of their season-ticket holders that live in L.A. and Orange counties. He added, "If everything is moving ahead, obviously we’re not going to be standing on the sidelines and watching everything go by. We’ve got to stay in the game to protect the franchise" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 10/24). Fabiani, on filing for relocation, "There's no sign that the other team or teams are not going to file. Everyone assumes all three teams will file, and in that case we can't afford to lose our market in Los Angeles and Orange County" (SI.com, 10/24).
CITIZENS ON PATROL: ESPN.com's Eric Williams noted San Diego-based environmental attorney Cory Briggs and a group of San Diego-area residents "crafted a citizens' initiative" last week, "establishing a way to raise money for the building of a joint-use NFL stadium and convention center expansion that would keep the Chargers in town." Fabiani said that the Chargers "are open to that proposal if the league delays relocating a franchise" to L.A. for another year. Fabiani: "What Briggs is doing is bypassing the normal process. He's doing what we did in Carson, and what Stan Kroenke did in Inglewood. He's going out and gathering signatures to be able to put something on the ballot without the involvement of the mayor or the city council. And I think going forward if there's a solution here in San Diego, it's going to have to come from the citizens' initiative process. It's pretty clear at this point the city's leadership doesn't really listen to anything the Chargers have to say" (ESPN.com, 10/23).
TWO PEAS IN A POD: In L.A., Vincent Bonsignore reports Raiders Owner Mark Davis and Chargers Chair Dean Spanos have developed an "unbreakable bond in their quest to cure their long-time local stadium fights by building a joint stadium in Carson," and neither owner "believes their local markets offer hope anymore." Davis said that there "hasn't been any official talks with Oakland in more than two months." He said, "We've gotten to the point now, unless you have something to offer, something different, there is no reason to talk." Bonsignore notes Davis and Spanos are "convinced they meet all of the league's relocation guidelines," and both claim the "tight partnership they've forged will create a long-term marriage that helps facilitate a success return" to L.A. Davis "insists the financial aspect of building the Carson stadium -- and sustaining in L.A. -- is rock solid." He said, "We're fine as far as financing" (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 10/26). CSNBayArea.com's Scott Bair said it is beginning to get "very close to crunch time where these two owners are going to have competing proposals against Stan Kroenke's stadium concept in the city of Inglewood." Bair: "It's all going to come down around January, and I know that Mark Davis and Dean Spanos are going to want to be in lockstep" (“Sports Talk Live,” CSN Bay Area, 10/23). In San Diego, Michael Gehlken wrote while the Raiders and Chargers could be seen as AFC West rivals, "these two organizations don't hate each other." Their owners "are in business together," and by "some measure, these franchises are closer to family than feud" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 10/25).
THIS TIME IT COUNTS: CBS Sports Network's Amy Trask said she believes the team or teams heading to L.A. will be known by the "first three months of 2016." She said, "There's a good chance it’s one team that’s announced. You announce one team is relocating, and you give two other teams an opportunity to work it out in the market, and one of them could then join the team that moves." But she added, "The league cannot continue to be Lucy, pulling the football away from Charlie Brown all the time. The sense I have around Los Angeles is make a decision” (“That Other Pregame Show,” CBSSN, 10/25).
