The group created by the San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders to build a joint-use stadium in Carson, California, has hired one of biggest names in the entertainment industry to lead the effort.
The head of Disney has agreed to join the efforts to move an NFL team to Los Angeles and "build a stadium worthy of their fans" according to the teams.
Bob Iger, currently Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Walt Disney Company, will serve as the Non-Executive Chairman of Carson Holdings, LLC.
Carson Holdings, LLC is the group working to build a joint-use stadium for the Chargers and Raiders in Carson.
Iger will lead the effort for five years, with an automatic two-year renewal option at an annual salary of $1.00 according to the statement released Wednesday. In exchange, Iger will have the option to buy a minority, non-controlling equity ownership interest in either the Raiders or the Chargers.
San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer and County Supervisor Ron Roberts were in New York to show the NFL Owners group why the Chargers should stay in San Diego.
About half the NFL's owners, including Dean Spanos and members of the LA relocation committeee, listened to Faulconer present the city's plan for a new stadium in Mission Valley.
Local
The mayor's presentation was followed by a question and answer session. He sent this statement following the meeting:
“Today we took San Diego’s passion for football directly to the National Football League. The decision-makers on the L.A. move are the NFL team owners, not the Chargers, so we appreciated the opportunity to discuss with them the facts about San Diego.
"The truth is that keeping the Chargers in San Diego is a superior choice to letting them move. San Diego’s strong economy, tourist attractions and generations of loyal fans make it a region that will grow the bottom line of the franchise and the NFL for years to come. And thanks to Governor Brown’s streamlining of the Mission Valley stadium project, San Diego’s plan for a Super Bowl-quality venue is ready to go. All we need is a team to partner with us to move it forward.
"For all these reasons and more, keeping the NFL in San Diego just makes sense.”
The Chargers maintain the Mission Valley stadium plan - with its rushed EIR process - is not a viable option for the team.
The NFL wants a final decision on LA by January 2016.
