Carson, with the Raiders, seriously? In a February 19th joint statement from the Raiders and Chargers the teams clearly outlined a “two track” plan to pursue new stadiums in their hometowns and a new stadium in Carson, California under the name Carson2gether.
Mark Fabiani, special counsel to the Chargers, has tried for 13 years to obtain plans for a new stadium from the city. Apparently for the first time in the past decade the Chargers seem to be able to make good on their plans to move out. “Our hand has been forced,” Fabiani proclaims on the Chargers website, “and we have no choice but to take this [Carson2gether] action.” The city appears to be scared. Multiple meetings about the future location of the team between team president Dean Spanos and Mayor Kevin Faulkner have been held.
Los Angeles is a Raiders town. The powder-blue boys will find little love in enemy territory where the Raiders held sway for over a decade. Sharing a stadium with the Oakland team would be odd. While the Jets and Giants share a stadium their rivalry is not quite comparable as to the Raiders with any other AFC West team.
To compound San Diego’s issue, according to a Jan. 5th Los Angeles Times article, the Rams administration hopes to return to LA and build a new stadium in Inglewood, California. As early as 2016 all three teams may share a fanbase in the greater Los Angeles area.
That’s stretching a target audience really thin.
Then comes the issue of driving to Carson every weekend. Who wants to drive 120 miles for four hours plus each way after paying for ridiculously priced tickets? Yes, some may enjoy the experience of road tripping and tailgating all day every other weekend in the fall. However, the Chargers would need years to build up a home town atmosphere and fan base in the Los Angeles area to keep its fans. In that the team might lose its San Diegan fan because of the high price of attending a home game.
LaDainian Tomlinson, former Charger running back, said he can’t picture the Chargers going anyplace else in a Feb. 23rd interview with Times of San Diego. “I guarantee that not one player is interested in teaming up with the Raiders,” he stated. The current team also shares his sentiments. The press release by Fabiani cites a San Diego solution as the preferred goal.
Mayor Kevin Faulkner has appointed a task force of nine to come up with a deal acceptable to the Chargers for a new stadium within the next 90 days. If a new stadium is to be built it will be put on the ballot for voter approval for the 2016 elections.
Funding for a new NFL stadium in town is the largest hurdle for the project. The Los Angeles Times reports that the new stadium will likely cost $1.7 billion while taxpayer sourcing for the structure remains highly unpopular.
A downtown construction would also be a mess. If 35000 attend Padre games, a roughly estimated 75000 could attend a Charger game. With limited space and aging infrastructure, downtown would likely struggle to process the sheer volume of ticket holders every other weekend.
