It sounds so weird, that it hardly seems possible. The fact that the Chargers have been thinking of relocating to Los Angeles is no secret, but that might be followed by a move by the Raiders to relocate to Las Vegas (the Raiders had been interested in moving back to L.A., but the move by the Rams and the Chargers would obviously eliminate that as a possibility).
Of course, there is a possibility that they might remain in San Diego, although that would apparently require a stadium deal that, evidently, is not on solid ground. That means that the Chargers very well may opt for the move to L.A., which would not be entirely new for the franchise, as they originated in the city, before relocating to San Diego, where they have been ever since.
For the NFL, they have greeted the possible move of the Chargers to Los Angeles with lukewarm enthusiasm, although they also have not made strong efforts to step in and keep the team in San Diego. But the city has now shown a willingness to put up a ton of money for a new stadium deal, and that is why the Chargers are eyeing the move to greener pastures in the bigger metropolis to the north.
Unfortunately, in this day and age, huge, fancy new stadiums with even bigger price tags attached have become all of the rage. There were the big, fancy domes with movable fields in Houston and Glendale, Arizona. Then came the wave of stadiums with price tags of over $1 billion, starting with the new home stadium for the Dallas Cowboys, followed by MetLife Stadium for the Giants and Jets, and Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara for the 49ers, Now, the Vikings and the Falcons are both about to get new domed stadiums that cost well over $1 billion each as well, and other franchises, obviously including the Raiders and the Chargers, are eyeing these with envy.
Naturally, it is all associated with greed - a ton of greed. And once again, predictably, the home fans of certain cities will get their hearts broken, while the wealthy franchises and the elites who run them and caused this pain in the first place will reap the benefits.
What else is new?
All I can say is that I feel bad for the fans in San Diego and Oakland, as greed and arrogant entitlement win out once again in the NFL. This is why I find it increasingly difficult to consider myself a fan.
Minnesota already has its new facility, a fixed-roof stadium called U.S. Bank Stadium. But point taken. I was glad when Québec refused to give in to the "Build a new facility or we're moving the Nordiques elsewhere" blackmail. Of course, the irony is that long after they became the Colorado Avalanche, the Centre Vidéotron was built regardless. It might not be so bad if these new facilities were at least used for 50 or 75 years without anybody suggesting they've become obsolete, but the fact of the matter is team owners seem to want new facilities every 30 to 35 years, which is obscene, particularly when one considers the vastly more worthy and important things on which that money could and should be spent.
ReplyDeleteAs you'll probably have heard by the time you read this, it's officially a done deal.
ReplyDeletehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_Chargers
https://www.yahoo.com/sports/news/chargers-l-a-move-reflects-their-history-mistake-prone-and-misguided-170209360.html