The clock is running out for the city of San Diego to work a deal to keep the Chargers.
NFL commissioner Rodger Goodell announced Wednesday city officials have until Dec. 28 to come up with a proposal to keep the Chargers in town. Goodell spoke to reporters after the NFL owners meeting in Dallas, saying the same deadline applies to Oakland and St. Louis.
"We believe the stadiums in Los Angeles, as well as other markets that are large markets, should be capable of hosting two teams. That's a very important imperative for us,” said Goodell.
The owners also agreed to meet Jan. 12 and 13 in Houston to discuss the move of an NFL team to Los Angeles for interested franchises.
Some speculated the group could vote on an L.A. move at that time. The owner of the Indianapolis Colts, Jim Irsay, told reporters there is a “strong feeling” among owners that two teams should relocate to L.A.
"I think we're going to have solutions that are going to be presented to the membership, and they're going to have to make a determination. I don't run on instinct. I run on facts and being thoughtful and running on the processes that we have and allowing ownership to make those decisions," said Goodell.
In another major development, the NFL commissioner announced they did receive a letter from St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke, saying he would be willing to share his proposed stadium in Inglewood with another team.
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Jim Lackritz, a business sports expert and former SDSU professor, told NBC 7 he is skeptical that the San Diego Chargers would want to be part of that deal.
“There's a lot of development that’s going be around that Inglewood area, Kroenke’s initial proposal makes it look like ‘Jerry World 2’ to even one-up what they're trying to do in Dallas, and my gut reaction is that Dean Spanos would not want to play second banana where all he can do is be involved only with the football day to day,” said Lackritz.
The San Diego Mayor’s office responded to the comments Wednesday with this statement:
"Commissioner Goodell reiterated the NFL wants certainty in stadium plans from home markets, and alluded to accomplishing that without a public vote. To be perfectly clear, the Mayor remains unwavering in his commitment to a public vote on a stadium, and is prepared to work with the team on a feasible plan that would be put before voters if they remain in San Diego in 2016."
Lackritz said the only real hope for local Chargers fans is that the cities of Oakland and St. Louis will be closer to a deal that could keep those teams in their home markets.
