There have been presentations in the morning about stadium deals in San Diego, St. Louis and Oakland, along with discussions about temporary stadium homes in the Los Angeles area while a new stadium is built.
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But the most important part of the day is the afternoon sessions, and the clock is ticking.
Here are five things you need to know about Wednesday afternoon’s meetings:
- The afternoon’s session is for owners only, the theory being, according to the Los Angeles Times, that they’ll feel more comfortable speaking their minds in that sort of smaller gathering without NFL staff. The owners used a similar format at meetings in August in Chicago, although this time, unlike there, the Chargers, Raiders and Rams owners will be allowed in the room for at least part of the time.
2. Many involved in the process acknowledge that the league has one shot to get its return to L.A. right after a two-decade absence, lending a feel of pressure that whatever plan is chosen it must be — pardon the mixed metaphor — a grand slam. “There is a lot of discussion, because this is a ‘once in a lifetime’ kind of thing,” Jaguars owner Shahid Khan told USA Today. “Everyone wants to make sure it’s the right decision and the right set of circumstances. The best solution might be something that’s not even presented. There might be Plan C.”
- Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and Panthers owner Jerry Richardson seem to have taken sides in the debate, the former supporting Stan Kroenke’s Rams moving to Inglewood and the latter favoring Dean Spanos’ Chargers going to Carson. (The Raiders clearly have taken a backseat among the three teams hopeful of relocating.) ESPN reported that the league lean is toward the Chargers.
Although news of a naming-rights deal for the planned St. Louis stadium to keep the Rams there doesn’t appear to impress Jones, SportsBusiness Journal reported.
Don’t expect a decision on L.A. There aren’t any votes scheduled for these meetings, the Times reported, and there likely won’t be any votes on L.A. at the December meetings in Dallas, either. According to the Times, owners are looking at January to decide between Inglewood and Carson. Kroenke has hoped for a December groundbreaking for his Inglewood project to be ready for the 2018 season, so that doesn’t jibe with the NFL’s timeline.
Although there won’t be a vote Wednesday, you can bet there is internal polling being done. Still, if no substantive progress toward a decision is made in New York, U-T San Diego reported, many league insiders have started to think that would will likely signal a shift toward a one-year delay of the NFL’s return to Los Angeles, from 2016 to 2017. Yet, U-T San Diego added, there is a belief by a significant number that the Chargers, Rams and Raiders need to know sooner rather than later what’s possible and what isn’t.
