Could the NFL really send the Chargers back to San Diego? It's something being discussed, according to longtime NFL reporter Don Banks.
The former Sports Illustrated reporter, who has worked for NFL Media and currently writes for The Athletic, told a San Diego radio station on Thursday the NFL never wanted to lose San Diego as a market and could force Chargers owner Dean Spanos to take the team back.
"I have been painted a picture from people I’ve talked to that the league was sympathetic … to Dean Spanos’ plight," Banks told The Mighty 1090. "Feels like he had been a ‘league guy’ feels like he had waited kind of his turn on the relocation front, thought he had the votes the year before — Jerry Jones and Stan Kroenke pretty much outmaneuvered Dean and Mark Davis with the Raiders to be the first in line for LA. So it was almost as if this was a bit of a make up.
"There are people in the league — including the commissioner — they did not want to see San Diego forsaken. They would rather there be a team in San Diego. If there’s anything viable that they could find to put the league back in to San Diego, I think they will be in that camp strongly."
The Chargers failed to sell out their temporary home, the 27,000-seat StubHub Center, in their home opener last Sunday. Banks wrote at The Athletic the NFL is shocked by how quickly things have gone south for the Chargers in L.A. As the Rams struggle to draw fans to the L.A. Coliseum, Banks said the NFL does not want the bad "optics" of empty stadiums for three years before the Rams and Chargers are scheduled to move into a new Inglewood stadium in 2020. [Reply]
Originally Posted by displacedinMN:
how much sewage is in that hole?
Bye murph
I don't know about sewage, but I believe there was a concern of soil contamination of MTBE from the fuel tank farm a stones throw north of the stadium. [Reply]
i drove by a few weekends ago, and it still looked like that pic..
Had some good times there for sure (and some bad: Merriman's cheap shot on Holmes stands out).
But that place HAD to be the worst dump of a stadium in the NFL for it's last 5-7 years of existence.
I saw a couple aztecs games and a US soccer match there within the past 3 years, and it was sooooo bad. Had to walk forever to find vendors, and if you wanted a cocktail (not beer), there was only 1 place in the whole stadium serving liquor).
Excited to see something new go in its place. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DJJasonp:
i drove by a few weekends ago, and it still looked like that pic..
Had some good times there for sure (and some bad: Merriman's cheap shot on Holmes stands out).
But that place HAD to be the worst dump of a stadium in the NFL for it's last 5-7 years of existence.
I saw a couple aztecs games and a US soccer match there within the past 3 years, and it was sooooo bad. Had to walk forever to find vendors, and if you wanted a cocktail (not beer), there was only 1 place in the whole stadium serving liquor).
Excited to see something new go in its place.
I know the voters didn’t want a new stadium.
But it feels like a missed opportunity. A new modern, billion dollar stadium in San Diego, with that weather....would seem highly attractive for all kinds of events. [Reply]
Originally Posted by displacedinMN:
st. louis does not deserve another football team. They have lost 2.
I was never a fan of either franchise, but that's not really fair. Cheap Ass Bidwill's Cardinals were putrid, yet he demanded a new stadium. The city basically told him that his shitty team didn't rate one. Instead of improving his team he left, and the Cardinals continued to be shitty in Phoenix.
As far as the Rams are concerned, that fuck Kroenke basically bought the team to relocate it. Before that, they were popular locally and successful.
It's not like they ran off two organizations that loved the city. [Reply]
Originally Posted by displacedinMN:
what are the plans? Homes/condo/shopping/amazon fulfillment center?
I would not want to invest in shopping right now.
The land was sold to SDSU, who is building a 35k seat stadium, a 34 acre park, and various school complexes. At one point in time, the stadium was said to be expandable for an NFL team, but not sure if that was the final plan or not. [Reply]
