Oakland Raiders and San Diego Chargers to Share a Home – in LA?
By Kevin Saito
Well, we didn’t see that one coming.
With so much attention being paid to Stan Kroenke’s efforts to build a stadium in LA and then move the St. Louis Rams back here to occupy it – perhaps giving the league double middle fingers in the process – a lot of people have forgotten that there are a couple of other teams in California with some stadium issues of their own. And that those teams also covet the LA market.
With the threat of Kroenke and the Rams coming back to town hanging over heads, and against the backdrop of their own stadium woes, the bitter AFC West rivals have released the details of a plan that might just keep Kroenke and the Rams in the Midwest, with each reclaiming a share of the lucrative LA market that’s been devoid of football for more than two decades.
The Oakland Raiders and San Diego Chargers have both been embroiled in long running feuds with the politicians in their respective towns as they try to hammer out new stadium deals. The issue – as it always does – boils down to money. In specific, the need for public tax dollars to help fund the construction of new stadiums.
And with the cost of new stadiums soaring above a billion dollars these days, can you really blame some of the politicians for not wanting to go to their constituents, hat in hand, to convince them that it’s in their best interest to hand over some of their hard earned cash? Especially when those same politicians must go to those same constituents, hat in hand, to beg for money for their own re-election campaigns.
September 29, 2013; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis before the game against the Washington Redskins at O.co Coliseum. The Redskins defeated the Raiders 24-14. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
The Raiders and Chargers have released the details of a plan to build a $1.7 billion dollar stadium in the city of Carson – which is just south of LA proper. In an arrangement similar to that of MetLife Stadium in New Jersey – home of the New York Giants and New York Jets – this new, state of the art facility, would house both the Raiders and the Chargers.
From a joint statement released by the teams Thursday night:
"“We are pursuing this stadium option in Carson for one straightforward reason: If we cannot find a permanent solution in our home markets, we have no alternative but to preserve other options to guarantee the future economic viability of our franchises.”"
Though Raiders’ owner Mark Davis has assured the Oakland politicos that remaining in the Bay Area is his first choice, and he is committed to making it work, his patience is wearing thin, and the stadium situation – or lack thereof – must be resolved sooner rather than later. The Charger brass has said much the same thing to the politicians in San Diego.
The joint statement went on to say:
"“For the remainder of 2015, we intend to move down two tracks simultaneously. On track one, we will continue to work in our home markets to find permanent stadium solutions that are publicly acceptable. On track two, we will work in Carson to preserve our options, and the future economic viability of our franchises, in the event that our efforts in our local markets fail.”"
Though the specter of a shared stadium in LA is likely to put a jolt into the politicians in both Oakland and San Diego, there is the possibility that the joint venture is nothing more than a leverage play. Faced with the possibility of losing their teams – and all of the jobs that go along with them – the wheels of progress in the two cities may get moving a little faster.
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Still, there is the possibility that this is more than just a ploy to squeeze tax dollars out of their home cities. The teams have gone so far as to hire an architect to design a new cutting edge, state of the art stadium. The initial design calls for a 68,000 seat stadium – which can expand to 72,000 if needed – and uses “clear seats that would reflect lights shined on them — silver and black for Raiders games, and powder blue for the Chargers.”
A stadium shared by the Raiders and Chargers would be an interesting spectacle for sure. Though not quite as Hatfield/McCoy-esque as if the Raiders were sharing a stadium with say, the Broncos, the idea that these two bitter division rivals would call the same place home is pretty outside of the box. And is something that never would have even been considered under the late Al Davis’ watch. After all, Al was notorious for not working and playing well with others, and by extension, the Raiders didn’t work and play well with others either.
But this is Mark Davis’ team now, and we’ve already seen him do a number of things that his father never would have even considered. And for the most part, what Mark has done has benefited the team, and has begun to bring them into the 21st century. His decision making on behalf of the Raiders has been pretty exceptional overall, and this stadium proposal is just another one of those creative, outside of the box solutions.
The younger Davis is not letting himself be bullied by the Oakland politicians and is putting his own stamp on the organization. Al would undoubtedly be proud of him.
And now that the stadium sized cat is officially out of the bag, we now understand the exact nature of the “business” Davis was conducting in an LA strip club the other day. And here we thought he was just there for the lunchtime buffet.
So now the ball is back in the court of the politicians in San Diego and Oakland. It’s most definitely a game of chicken at this point, and it will be interesting to see who blinks first.