The Chargers have an option to go to Los Angeles if things don’t work out in their San Diego stadium search. If you’re to believe NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, he hopes the Bolts never leave America’s Finest City.
“It is very much a priority for us. We want to work to try to keep our teams where they are,” said Goodell during his annual Super Bowl news conference. “My issue is, and my pledge to (Chargers Chairman and co-owner) Dean Spanos, to the mayor of San Diego is to do everything possible we can to support them, to try to get the right kind of facilities long-term.”
Goodell shared that in his conversations with San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer the local political powers agree that San Diego’s professional football facility is not up to the level the NFL wants in today’s day and age and praised both Faulconer and Spanos for coming (back) together to try and work something out.
“Our pledge is to try to help them get that done,” said Goodell. “I think it’s great that Dean Spanos and his family said we want to make this work in San Diego. They have an incredibly attractive option in Los Angeles, but they decided we’re going to go and try to make this work in San Diego. We will do everything we can to support them.”
Goodell also included Oakland and Raiders owner Mark Davis in his address, saying Davis is fighting a similar battle in the East Bay Area but without similar progress.
“The league supports both these teams, but we’re working very hard with not only the teams but the communities to find a solution that works for everybody. This has to work for the community and it has to work for the teams long term.”
Perhaps not coincidentally the NFL announced on Friday that the Raiders will give up a home game to play the Houston Texans in Mexico City, Mexico on November 21, 2016. Davis also made waves when he addressed a recent trip to Las Vegas to speak to casino owners about the possibility of building the Raiders a new stadium in the Nevada desert.
“It’s an international city,” Davis said. “It’s a global city. Again, the Raiders are a global brand, so it’s got potential. It’s absolutely an NFL city.”
The sentiment makes sense in one regard. The Raider Nation is, indeed, global. But the NFL is quick to talk about protecting the integrity of “The Shield” and long stayed away from adding Vegas to the list of potential landing spots for one of its 32 franchises. You’d have to figure a team in a city where gambling is as big as it is in Las Vegas, in a stadium that would likely be built at least partially with private funds from casino owners, would be a non-starter for the league.
But, if we’ve learned anything about the NFL it is this: the 32 owners REALLY like money. If Las Vegas comes in with a way to improve the bottom line they just might take a serious look at it.
