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 sd4chiefs:
Los Angeles could get away with charging for seats just to have the right to buy season tickets. It cost $7,500 per seat (one time fee) with season tickets at $150 per game. Club Seats range from $15,000 to $80,000 per seat and accompanying season tickets are $375 per game. There was no way that Charger Fans in San Diego were going to shell out that kind of money. Crazy.
Paying for seats should be criminal. Kroenke fucked over plenty of fans in his process of moving too. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud:
There's no way Oakland or San Diego get an NFL team again because their cities and voters do not want to shell out $2 billion for a stadium.
I'd be very surprised to see an NFL team in St. Louis again and really the only way to even get interest is to build a palace for an NFL team in advance, something that seems very unlikely.
I don't know much about the city of Orlando but with Jacksonville's continuing and never-ending struggles, I doubt Orlando would be a viable option for any team.
NFL is running out of viable US cities that can support a team. One of the reasons they are looking at cities outside the US I imagine. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud:
There's no way Oakland or San Diego get an NFL team again because their cities and voters do not want to shell out $2 billion for a stadium.
I'd be very surprised to see an NFL team in St. Louis again and really the only way to even get interest is to build a palace for an NFL team in advance, something that seems very unlikely.
I don't know much about the city of Orlando but with Jacksonville's continuing and never-ending struggles, I doubt Orlando would be a viable option for any team.
Originally Posted by Chief Roundup:
That would be STUPID.
Mexico City or Montreal/Toronto should be before London. Travel required for a team in Europe is very problematic.
Money talks. The new Spurs stadium there is already fully fitted for an NFL team.. Think a deal might alright be done with the NFL behind the scenes. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Dull Tools:
Money talks. The new Spurs stadium there is already fully fitted for an NFL team.. Think a deal might alright be done with the NFL behind the scenes.
As long as Jerry Jones is alive, it will not happen, period.
Jerry has made the other 31 owners far too wealthy through his TV contact negotiations for them to turn their back on him.
Honestly, I could see Canada or Mexico City getting a team before an American city would at this point. The NFL has not even tried to hide their want of foreign dollars pouring into the league, so I feel the effort would be for a move like that by the league. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Chief Roundup:
That would be STUPID.
Mexico City or Montreal/Toronto should be before London. Travel required for a team in Europe is very problematic.
Shits given by NFL owners and Roger fucking Goodell = zero. They'd put a team in Antarctica if they thought they could make money doing it.
Imagine a west coast team playing a game in London. If there was an actual team there and they weren't just playing random games that the schedule could work around, it would be business as usual, with an 11 hour flight each way. [Reply]