Long time rival moving...

TheKey · Post by **TheKey** » Sat Jul 03, 2004 5:43 pm

CHARGERS, SAN DIEGO NEARING A DEAL

It's almost time to cross the Chargers off of the short list of teams on the L.A. list.

According to the North County Times, the Chargers and the City of San Diego are close to an agreement on a lease that would keep the Chargers in Qualcomm Stadium through at least the 2008 season.

It's actually a ten-year lease, but the Chargers can get out of it after 2008 with a payment of $57.775 million. The Chargers can get out after 2009 for $56 million, and after 2010 for $24 million.

As a practical matter, this takes the Chargers out of the pool of potential franchises that could move to Los Angeles in an effort by the NFL to placate the networks, whose return on the billion-dollar NFL investment surely would increase by putting a team back in the nation's No. 2 television market.

So who'll make the move? For now, the Saints, Vikings, and Colts are the three primary candidates -- primarily since they're the only three teams who have been unsuccessful in their efforts to get new digs over the past decade.

We also won't rule out, however, the possibility of a team like the Raiders or the Cowboys (who now hold their training camp in Cali) trying to squat on the lucrative L.A. market. And with concerns that the folks in Los Angeles might be ambivalent about the return of football, our guess is that the NFL will be looking to make a big splash.

We realize that the Cowboys are a long shot, and that the mere suggestion of such a move likely will be regarded in Big D as sacrilege. But Jerry Jones is capable of doing it, especially if the move could be justified as being in the best interests of the league.

And the move likely would be followed by a move of the Colts, Saints, or Vikings to Texas -- with either the Colts or Saints heading to Dallas, or the Vikes to owner Red McCombs' hometown of San Antonio.

As to the Saints, New Orleans is beating the deadline by only a few days to complete a $15 million payment to the team, which is part of a 2001 contract intended to keep the Saints from leaving town.

1niksder · Post by **1niksder** » Sat Jul 03, 2004 5:53 pm

We also won't rule out, however, the possibility of a team like the Raiders or That team from Texas (who now hold their training camp in Cali) trying to squat on the lucrative L.A. market.

It'll never Happen Thats like the Skins moving to New Mexico

TheKey · Post by **TheKey** » Sat Jul 03, 2004 7:37 pm

You really think so?

I hope your right.

hailskins666 · Post by **hailskins666** » Sat Jul 03, 2004 8:28 pm

the LA cowpukes???? wow! i don't think JJ would ever move the team but, damn. this is the second rumor i've heard like this. if they did that, theres no way they could be considered nfc east anymore. i personally don't think LA deserves another team. they had TWO for chrissakes, and couldn't hold on to either. they need to keep whining about it in LA IMO. cry me a freakin river......

TheKey · Post by **TheKey** » Sat Jul 03, 2004 8:57 pm

whats the other one.?

hailskins666 · Post by **hailskins666** » Sat Jul 03, 2004 9:19 pm

TheKey wrote:whats the other one.?

the other rumor? i read somewhere not too long ago that dallas may be a favorite for LA because of the new stadium disputes in the dallas area. i think jerry would move somewhere else in TX before he would entertain the idea of LA.

TheKey · Post by **TheKey** » Sat Jul 03, 2004 9:56 pm

dont you think that is a stretch?

C'mon, Dallas to LA. Never gonna happen