1-Man’s Opinion Column-Monday “Chargers Owner-Hard Decision”
“Chargers Owner-Hard Decision”
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The debate rages on and a hard decision has to be made soon.
It’s been six days since the NFL decided the Rams belonged back in Los Angels and the Chargers have 1st option on becoming the other team, a co-partner at Hollywood Park.
The silence is deafening coming out of Chargers Park. The silence of owner Dean Spanos speaks volumes though.
He continues to be of the mind, ‘he has options’ for his team, and his families financial future. I’m not sure what tea leaves he is reading, or if he can see the scoreboard, or feel the pulse of the population.
In Los Angeles, an LA Times poll says 63% believe the city is a Rams town, and only 13% believe the Chargers should come to Inglewood. In fact more, 17% want the Raiders.
In San Diego, the UT’s latest poll heading into the weekend, say 83% of the fans disapprove with how Spanos and his spokesman Mark Fabiani, have conducted their business.
And if the team moves, an all time high 95% blame Spanos for the collapse of talks, a resounding vote of confidence towards Mayor Kevin Faulconer, and a resounding no-confidence towards the owner.
Of course the owner told the Mayor, he was still studying his options. What he didn’t tell him was he hopes to find the best deal possible in LA, then come back and try to drop the hammer on San Diego to up their offer, meaning Spanos would have to pay less. Good Luck with that.
While considering what is in the best interest of his football franchise, and his family, he fails to mention the best interest of the fans and the city that has loyally supported thru many sub-standard seasons.
Lost in the rhetoric is a bit of reality. At 10am today, the Rams begin selling season tickets at the LA Coliseum, and gather names for a waiting list for season ticket holders once the new Hollywood Park Stadium is ready in 2019.
Time is ticking away on Spanos in Los Angeles. You would have thought a smart man would have had a game plan already in place to hit the floor running if the Chargers got the okay to relocate in LA, considering how much time, energy, resources Deano has spent on LA projects.
Missing out on early LA season tickets is an issue. So is the fact the Chargers will have a tough time getting ticket renewals here because of all the toxic things said towards San Diego leadership
And also forgotten now is this sales pitch about downtown. That entails a likely five years of pain, trying to acquire land, clean up tainted soil at the MTS Center, battle the hoteliers. All that could mean a 5-year sentence to stay at Qualcomm Stadium hoping you can get things done downtown.
And yes, there is the vote too, and who knows the real pulse of the community now with all the things that have happened coming out of Chargers Park.
Waiting in the wings is Mark Davis and his Raiders, an NFL franchise that has lagged behind on the field, and in the business world, being the lowest revenue producing team in the league. And you thought Jacksonville was troubled.
Can you imagine the Raiders moving to LA and raking in billions, while Spanos tries to dig out of the sink-hole of hatred he created for himself here?. Can you imagine the Raiders coming here and becoming a West Coast brand in a shiny new stadium if the current owner finally decides to become Johnny-come-lately in LA?
In LA, the Chargers would sit behind the Rams on the NFL radar. And you have UCLA and USC. Add in the Dodgers. The once proud Lakers, the fast track Clippers, and the very popular LA Kings. Think about that. Team Spanos could be 8th in the pecking order. In San Diego they have been number 1-and in good years, number 1-with a bullet.
The day after, six days after, nothing is clear. The owner thinks he has options. He lost his project in Carson. The perception is he’s not being held in equal esteem with the Rams up there now. You can buy Rams tickets today. And here, we might have a 5-year wait on a stadium solution if it’s not Mission Valley.
Spanos may view himself in the drivers seat. His image looks like he’s been run over by the cement trucks on their way to the construction project at the Rams Stadium in Hollywood Park And if you asked Chargers fans, they’d vote to have him leave, and leave the team, the name, and the colors here for a new owner.
That’s an option Team Spanos might want to consider. Getting out. Selling out. Right now they seem out of respect in the eyes of Chargers fans.
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Lee, why has Cheapo Spanos not taken on a partner to help fund stadium and lessen the death tax burden?
He has had talks with at least 3-people interested in buying into the team, he wants their money, but is unwilling to give them any say-so in running o franchise or give them option to buy the whole team….