The level of optimism regarding the Chargers remaining in San Diego at yesterday's NFL owners' meeting "depended on which owner was queried,” with several indicating that the “clock on this game is winding perilously close to the buzzer,” according to Kevin Acee of the SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE. Owners heard from Chargers Chair Dean Spanos and COO Jeanne Bonk in the morning, and a source said that Spanos “expressed ‘disappointment’ in recent events in San Diego.” Spanos “clearly was uninterested in talking.” He said, “I’m not going to make any decisions until after the first of the year.” Several owners “confirmed he has said nothing to them that indicates his intentions” regarding a possible move to L.A. Texans Owner Bob McNair said. “We are leaving the door open for something, hoping they'll come up with something. But it remains to be seen. ... They need to come up with something firm” (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 12/15). NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said that he talked with San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer yesterday, “telling him he would like to help further the city's stadium effort.” But Goodell “also told the mayor that the league had already added” an additional $100M -- from $200M to $300M -- “in loan funding for a San Diego stadium.” However, Goodell said that L.A. is "big enough to handle two teams.” He said, “It’s a great market” (ESPN.com, 12/15).
RUNNING OUT OF OPTIONS? Colts Owner Jim Irsay said there is “no reason for optimism” for the Chargers or Raiders remaining in their current cities. He said, “There just isn’t any opportunity in Oakland or San Diego. As owners, we are aware of that. It’s unfortunate, you don’t like to see it, but it’s reality.” In L.A., Farmer & Fenno note the NFL is “ratcheting up the pressure on the San Diego market to produce a deal the franchise would embrace.” Irsay’s comments were “among the strongest in the past year of the relocation saga.” He said that he “wouldn’t be surprised if the Chargers acted on their option to relocate before the deadline and doesn’t see value in extending the option beyond mid-January.” Irsay: “This process has been going on for a very, very long time in San Diego. That being said, to extend it would be fruitless.” Farmer & Fenno note other owners “were more measured in their assessment of the situation.” Steelers President Art Rooney II, a member of the league’s Committee on L.A. Opportunities, said, “There’s activity, (but) I can’t say that there’s anything that anybody is going to be able to hang their hat on” (L.A. TIMES, 12/15). In N.Y., Ken Belson notes owners “showed signs of grudging support” for allowing the Chargers and Raiders to relocate as “momentum grew for the teams to make the moves, which would represent the most significant reordering of the NFL’s geographic lineup in two decades” (N.Y. TIMES, 12/15).
