According to this report from CBSSports.com, many NFL owners and front office members are extremely upset with Dean Spanos over the Chargers' move to Los Angeles and and want him to move the team back to San Diego.

While I absolutely agree with the NFL's concerns, I also must ask where has the NFL been for the last few years on this? Also, what the hell was Spanos supposed to do?

They gave him a deadline and he pushed it all the way to the end of the deadline before announcing the move. Personally, I don't blame him even one bit. He had a legitimate option that was clearly better than his current situation and nobody gave him any reason whatsoever to eschew that option.

To me, this is every bit as much on the NFL as it is Dean Spanos.

Raiders to LA
Chargers to Vegas

What should have happened. Hopefully the NFL can fix this mess before its too late

Just so nobody gets this twisted, I could not agree more that this is an enormous mistake by all concerned.

The city of San Diego should have never let the Chargers get away. There were many opportunities to come to an agreement here but they arrogantly folded their arms and told the Spanos clan to go to hell. That sounds great in theory but it's going to be lonely come next fall. San Diego is not Los Angeles and they will soon be beating down the door to get a team back in their city.

By the way, that city absolutely should have an NFL team but you have to pay to play – even if you have perfect weather and are located near an ocean. It shouldn't work that way. In fact, it's ridiculous that billionaires are able to strong arm their cities into building them billion dollar palaces. However, that's not exactly unique in business. It's just that usually when that happens the public isn't quite as aware of it or upset by it.

Personally, I think each state should pass laws strictly prohibiting it. However, in the absence of such laws, I have a really difficult time blaming Spanos for behaving in a way that all of his competitors do/have.

Also, the NFL has no business putting a second team in Los Angeles, especially just a year after putting the first team in that market in 20 years.

I honestly cannot believe that they did not kick in more money to a project that would build a stadium in San Diego. It literally would've been worth it to them to pay for the entire stadium rather than to have the Chargers move to LA and infringe and on the Rams.

Los Angeles is not a two-team market, it is CLEARLY a one-team market...if that.

The NFL, more than anyone else, really dropped the ball on this one. They can point fingers at Dean Spano's until the cows come home but this one is on Roger Goodell and those idiotic owners that basically forced him into a market that he doesn't want to be in and which clearly doesn't want his team.

The Chargers are going to fail miserably in Los Angeles and everybody can see it coming from 10 miles away. This has no chance of working out well for anyone concerned and there are a lot of villains here.

Spanos is the easy target – and a deserving target. However, he is not the only person involved deserving of criticism.

(01-20-2017 06:09 PM)Dr. Isaly von Yinzer Wrote:  I honestly cannot believe that they did not kick in more money to a project that would build a stadium in San Diego. It literally would've been worth it to them to pay for the entire stadium rather than to have the Chargers move to LA and infringe and on the Rams.

Yep. This article feels like an exaggeration. If the NFL owners REALLY wanted Spanos to stay in San Diego they could have kicked more money in to fund a stadium.

The Chargers will have a lot of problems in LA because nobody cares. But in SD, they hate the guy now. Only way moving back works is if Spanos sells the team.

(01-20-2017 06:43 PM)Brookes Owl Wrote:  

(01-20-2017 06:09 PM)Dr. Isaly von Yinzer Wrote:  I honestly cannot believe that they did not kick in more money to a project that would build a stadium in San Diego. It literally would've been worth it to them to pay for the entire stadium rather than to have the Chargers move to LA and infringe and on the Rams.

Yep. This article feels like an exaggeration. If the NFL owners REALLY wanted Spanos to stay in San Diego they could have kicked more money in to fund a stadium.

The Chargers will have a lot of problems in LA because nobody cares. But in SD, they hate the guy now. Only way moving back works is if Spanos sells the team.

Spanos is the problem. He went from city to suburb to suburb back to city in San Diego trying to pitch stadium ideas, and in every place his pitch was that he wanted a stadium as long as the Chargers paid almost nothing. Other NFL owners who extract big money from the local governments at least put up a significant portion of their own money. Spanos wanted a city, or the county, or both, to pay. If a city offered him free land for a stadium site, he asked them for additional free land that the Chargers could sell to pay for the stadium construction. When San Diego offered to split the cost of a new stadium at the current site, he walked out and put his downtown stadium proposal on the ballot that asked for twice as much tax money and had no chance of passing.

Then Spanos wanted the NFL to chip in $500 million or so toward a San Diego stadium, to keep him from moving to LA? Why in the world would the NFL set the precedent of making such a large contribution out of the league's pocket? Why would Spanos think Goodell and the owners would react favorably to being blackmailed?

No doubt they're ticked off, although the "They should move back" comment was probably made by an owner or league official out of frustration, rather than being a serious proposal.

Please... Let that happen...

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Where are they gonna play, at some high school in Chula Vista? If San Diegans were serious about keeping the team, they'd have implemented some kind of tax on visitors to get a stadium built and keep the team like most other cities do. Raise taxes at the airport, on car rentals or hotels (or some combination of all three) and they're in business.

(01-21-2017 04:13 AM)_C2_ Wrote:  Where are they gonna play, at some high school in Chula Vista? If San Diegans were serious about keeping the team, they'd have implemented some kind of tax on visitors to get a stadium built and keep the team like most other cities do. Raise taxes at the airport, on car rentals or hotels (or some combination of all three) and they're in business.

They're playing at the 30,000 seat StubHub Stadium until the Rams' new stadium is built.

The Chargers really should've stayed in San Diego, and the League should've done anything it could - up to and including providing money for a stadium - to ensure that it would happen. The problem is Spanos wants to use public money to build a stadium; Kronke is putting up his own money to do just that.

But, what do I know?

It seems the NFL only gave the chargers the option to move to LA as a bluff to try to get a SD built otherwise they can't be mad to it was used. The NFL should have given the raiders the option since they work great as team 2 in LA. Not sure what the NFL can do now other than sending the chargers to Nevada and raiders to LA but that won't happen.

(01-21-2017 09:59 AM)BlazerJoe Wrote:  

(01-21-2017 04:13 AM)_C2_ Wrote:  Where are they gonna play, at some high school in Chula Vista? If San Diegans were serious about keeping the team, they'd have implemented some kind of tax on visitors to get a stadium built and keep the team like most other cities do. Raise taxes at the airport, on car rentals or hotels (or some combination of all three) and they're in business.

They're playing at the 30,000 seat StubHub Stadium until the Rams' new stadium is built.

The Chargers really should've stayed in San Diego, and the League should've done anything it could - up to and including providing money for a stadium - to ensure that it would happen. The problem is Spanos wants to use public money to build a stadium; Kronke is putting up his own money to do just that.

But, what do I know?

The guy said "Please...Let that happen," to them going back to San Diego. I asked where would they play...in San Diego? They had no choice but to move. I personally think it should have been to Vegas to establish a new fanbase all their own and not shared as well as not piss off their fanbase by moving to a rival city. They'd also be moving somewhere close enough to drive to each game for current season ticket holders.

Cities don't really have an excuse to fund these stadiums if they want them, all you have to do is put a minor tax on visitors. I know some of you still have an issue with that and think funds should go elsewhere but there's always going to be something in disrepair, that's life.

The NFL has a lot to offer the city of San Diego to return. The NFL could offer to finance/build the stadium. The NFL could offer the Super Bowl or multiple Super Bowls. The NFL could offer more college bowl games in perfect weather San Diego.

Los Angeles needs to gulp down the Rams and demonstrate the city can support a team.

The challenge with moving back is that the Clippers were bought to $2B dollars. That kind of money is enough to move the Rams back from a city that could support an NFL team- St Louis.

The additional challenge is when cities determine that the NFL owners are moving, city officials and taxpayers may way up that they are being used.

For San Diego city officials- Offer to work with the NFL to find a way for the NFL to build their own stadium on their own dime.

(01-22-2017 10:32 PM)chess Wrote:  The NFL has a lot to offer the city of San Diego to return. The NFL could offer to finance/build the stadium. The NFL could offer the Super Bowl or multiple Super Bowls.

They could have offered all that to stay there, but they didn't.

(01-22-2017 10:32 PM)chess Wrote:  The challenge with moving back is that the Clippers were bought to $2B dollars. That kind of money is enough to move the Rams back from a city that could support an NFL team- St Louis.

Why would the Chargers move back to San Diego to have the team valued a billion dollars less? Then NFL isn't going to offer a free billion dollars.

(01-22-2017 10:32 PM)chess Wrote:  The additional challenge is when cities determine that the NFL owners are moving, city officials and taxpayers may way up that they are being used.

For San Diego city officials- Offer to work with the NFL to find a way for the NFL to build their own stadium on their own dime.

Totally, the city of San Diego should hold the NFL hostage until they are willing to pay a franchise a billion dollars to move there plus a couple hundred million if not another billion towards a stadium, and promise to hold multiple multiple Super Bowls there. I'm sure the NFL will call any minute.

(01-22-2017 10:32 PM)chess Wrote:  Los Angeles needs to gulp down the Rams and demonstrate the city can support a team.

There is an underlying assumption that LA will be for the Rams and the Chargers will be 2nd fiddle....but I don't know what that is based on...

I think the Raiders would have been 1st had they moved to L.A., but I think the Chargers will have every opportunity to garner as many if not more fans than the Rams, who have lived out of state for awhile now....

(01-23-2017 12:40 PM)EvilVodka Wrote:  

(01-22-2017 10:32 PM)chess Wrote:  Los Angeles needs to gulp down the Rams and demonstrate the city can support a team.

There is an underlying assumption that LA will be for the Rams and the Chargers will be 2nd fiddle....but I don't know what that is based on...

I think the Raiders would have been 1st had they moved to L.A., but I think the Chargers will have every opportunity to garner as many if not more fans than the Rams, who have lived out of state for awhile now....

The Chargers in LA will not start with a fan base like the Jets have in the NY/NJ area; the Jets have been there for the last 57 years and because of that they have a base of fans now, notwithstanding their lack of consistent winning.

The Chargers are like any other new team in town that has no fan base in LA. If they want to build a fan base, they'll have to win consistently.

Winning consistently would be a departure from Chargers' team history. In the last 20 seasons (1997-2016), the Chargers have made 6 playoff appearances, including only one appearance in the AFC championship game (a loss to NE in the 2007 season). Their 20-year regular-season record is 143-177.

You don't have to make the playoffs every single year, and you don't have to make 7 Super Bowls in 16 seasons like the Patriots. But to make up the difference between the Chargers' history and winning enough to build a loyal LA fan base from scratch, they would need to win as often as, say, the Broncos. The Broncos from 1997-2016 have 11 playoff appearances, (including 3 Super Bowl wins and 4 Super Bowl appearances) and a 20-year regular-season record of 196-124.

Even without any Super Bowl appearances, IMO averaging almost 10 wins/season and making the playoffs at least half the time would do it. That would require a huge improvement in the management and coaching of the Chargers over its recent history.

It really should be no different than the Clippers.

Moved to LA in 1984-85, and didn't start winning until 2011-12. But they built a fan base.

That's because LA is big enough that even a JV team can build a following.

So there you go.

People trying to pretend that the Chargers won't build a following in LA are just wishful haters.