Sports Illustrated’s Peter King believes wholeheartedly that the Oakland Raiders will not get a new stadium in the Bay Area, and instead will move into the new riverfront stadium the city of St. Louis has been pitching to the Rams. The Rams — owned by real estate mogul and Missouri-native Stan Kroenke — have positioned themselves to return to Los Angeles, which King also believes will happen. Kroenke recently bought a massive plot of land in Hollywood Park (where the old race track currently resides).
The Chargers have been the odd man out in all of this, stuck somewhere between a crappy old stadium, a stubborn municipality and the prospect of moving to a city that doesn’t want them. Unlike the Rams and Raiders — who were initially reported to be in talks to share a stadium in Los Angeles — the Chargers have no history with the city. In fact, last month a petition drive was held in Carson, California (just outside Los Angeles) to gather signatures for a potential joint-stadium between the Raiders and Bolts, and the turnout was decidedly pro-Raiders.
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But the moves make sense as King laid them out today on The Dan Patrick Show. The Rams get to leave St. Louis after tumultuous negotiations for a new stadium spoiled their relationship with the city, Kroenke gets his Los Angeles megaplex, the Chargers get a new stadium that they don’t have to share with the infinitely more popular Raiders, the Raiders get a new stadium for themselves and the NFL doesn’t have to worry about the historically badass Raiders contingency running amok in Los Angeles again. It’s a win/win/win/win/win/lose.
(The “lose” is for the city of San Diego.)
Designs for both Chargers proposals in San Diego, both dual-use stadiums in Los Angeles and the riverfront stadium in St. Louis, below.
