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 SuperBowl4:
I was a cHargers season ticket holder first in 1984. And was a cHargers season ticket holder for probably 15 to 25 seasons. I have always been a CHIEFS fan first but living in Southern California and being a fan of the NFL we loved going down to Jack Murphy Stadium on Sundays. I had no idea until yesterday that the stadium I went to for decades was been demolished. I went to over 250+ games there and was a cHargers season ticket holder the year they went to the Super Bowl. I had a lot of great times there. Kind of sad to see it like this - http://youtu.be/qi5kHUe7no4 the rise and fall of the San Diego cHargers stadium ->http://youtu.be/LXeKjrE5BnI
Stan Humpries, Marion Butts and Natrone Means would torch those Marty defenses in the early 90s. Humpries was a good deep ball thrower. Bobby Ross was an underrated coach. [Reply]
I always kind of figured they would be the team to go to Mexico City, if we ever go that route. Though I'd be hard pressed to tell a bunch of Americans to move their families there at this time. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Deberg_1990: Stan Humpries, Marion Butts and Natrone Means would torch those Marty defenses in the early 90s. Humpries was a good deep ball thrower. Bobby Ross was an underrated coach.
1. Force that asshat Spanos to sell the Chargers, and send them back to San Diego under new, community-based ownership. Build them a new stadium at league expense to soothe fanbase butthurt. They could play at a college stadium until the new facility is completed.
2. Relocate the Raiders to L.A., where they actually have a ready fanbase.
3. Use the Vegas Stadium to host one game per week, preferably a marquis matchup. Since they are now going to a 17 game season, this could be done without stealing an extra home game from anybody. Perhaps they could even make it the permanent home of the Super Bowl.
4. No more games in London or Mexico City. Fuck that shit.
Of course, none of these things will actually happen. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Frazod:
Of course, none of these things will actually happen.
Agreed.
Los Angeles does not want the Raiders, specifically, their fan base, and fought hard to exclude them from the AEG/Staples Center deal and the Carson proposal.
The only community based team in the NFL is the Packers and the NFL has a bylaw against that now, so they'll always be unique.
I just don't know of a municipality that would support the Chargers. Maybe St. Louis, but it would take a new ownership group, a new team name and a wealthy owner willing to make not only a $2 billion dollar investment in the team but at least another billion for a stadium.
That's a big ask for a smaller market.
Plus, there's the pesky Spanos family, which absolutely refuses to sell and has no money to build their own stadium. They're also locked into a 30 year lease at Kroenke World, although I'd think the NFL would help them dig out of that if there was a community willing to embrace the Chargers.
I just get the feeling that no one wants them. [Reply]
I bet someone would want them pretty quickly if you scraped the Spanos barnacles off of the team. The Spanos' are basically Marge Schott-ing the team without all the racial blasts - just totally screwing up a sure thing. It's fascinating to watch, really.
I actually like Fraz's idea of turning the Vegas stadium into a game of the week matchup site. Rotate it evenly between all the various networks and profit. Vegas during the NFL season would become even more of a destination every weekend than it is now. It's kind of a shame they won't consider it. [Reply]
Why are we wanting to move the Raiders out of Vegas already?
The people haven’t been given a chance yet to show if they will support them.
The only place that the Chargers name holds any value is San Diego. Shame on the NFL and the Spanos that they can’t make it work there somehow. [Reply]
When I lived in LA we'd take the Amtrak from Union Station down to see the Chiefs game there. Drink the whole way on the train, was basically our tailgate get to the stadium around noon for the 1pm kickoff. Good memories. I mean ,what I can remember of it. The train ride back at night after drinking since 7am was a bit of a blur.
one year we all pitched in for a stretch limo to take us there, it was about the same price as 8 train tickets. we tailgated out of a limo with an ice chest and a tiny weber Smokey Joe tabletop grill on the ground. After the game we were offering Krispy Kreme donuts out of the sunroof (not a euphemism) and met a couple girls two cars back. I got into their car with the donut box and a six pack and was hanging out eating donuts and beer with them on the way out of the lot. We followed them to Seau's bar. Some Chargers Cheerleaders were meeting them there.
Like five years later I was art work and a new girl comes up to me in the kitchen area and says "you look familiar" it took us a couple seconds to figure out she was one of the girls in the car I brought the donuts to.