The San Diego Chargers took the next step towards a possible move to the Los Angeles suburb of Carson by filing for relocation on Monday night.
NFL owners will meet in Houston next week, at which time they could approve a move for the Chargers and/or the Oakland Raiders or St. Louis Rams, who also filed for relocation on Monday.
One or two of the three franchises are expected to move to the country's second-largest TV market but at least one will not.
Chargers owner/chairman of the board Dean Spanos addressed the franchise’s decision to file for relocation in a video posted on the team’s website.
In that video, Spanos mentioned the catalyst for this potential move was Rams owner Stan Kroenke's decision to make a push towards the country’s 2nd largest TV market. Spanos went on to say "this was a move to protect our business more than anything."
It should be noted that Spanos was being interviewed by one of his own Chargers employees in a Chargers-themed TV studio.
As Chargers spokesman Mark Fabiani has claimed for months, Spanos reiterated that he believes “25% of the (Chargers) organization’s business comes from Orange County, Riverside County and Los Angeles County and another team or teams going there would have a huge impact.”
Spanos blamed "the inability of the city at the political level to get any kind of public funding or any kind of vote to help subsidize a stadium."
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In the video he also claimed the Chargers offered 9 different proposals in the past 14 years which were all turned down by the city. However in many of those 9 proposals - including the recent Mission Valley site that was proposed by the city - the Chargers did not negotiate a team financing plan.
The Chargers have played in San Diego for 55 seasons.
San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer released the following response to Spanos' video:
"San Diego developed a fair stadium proposal and a plan to hold a special election by the NFL's deadline, but the Chargers' owner walked away from the table. The more San Diego has done the less engaged the Chargers have become. San Diegans deserve better."
"This announcement isn't a surprise, but it's still disappointing for generations of San Diego Chargers fans. Our city is the rightful home to the Bolts. We believe the viable stadium plan we've presented to the NFL should be cause for keeping the Chargers in their hometown.
The team walked away from negotiations with the city and county in mid-June. The Chargers want to partner with the Raiders on a stadium in Carson, while the Rams are focused on a site in Inglewood where they could potentially house a second franchise as well.
