Chargers Moving? I Say No

Artist rendition of new San Diego Football Stadium

In lieu of recent debates on the whole Chargers moving to L.A. issue, I’m going to make an attempt to douse the proverbial fire.

Roger Goodell sent out a memo last week to all 32 teams detailing the conditions of moving a team to Los Angeles, thus stirring up controversy all over again whether or not the Chargers are considering a move. In the memo, Goodell has set the relocation application deadline from any team at between January 1^st and February 15^th, 2013. As I have said over and over again, Spanos and company are, in my opinion, trying to keep the team here in San Diego.

Case in point:

During an interview with XX1090, Chargers special counsel Mark Fabiani was asked if the Chargers plan to submit an application.

“No. We are not planning on it, and obviously I’m not a fortune teller, I can’t see into the future, but I would be very surprised if we were filing out an application a couple months from now,” Fabiani said. “We’re trying to get something done here in San Diego, and I’d be surprised if the result was anything other than that.”

Fabiani was also asked if that could change in the next six months. In his response he says:

“I guess it could change, if the new mayor came into office and said ‘I have absolutely no interest in working with you, San Diego, therefore you can leave if you want to.’ You know, we would have to look at something like that. I don’t anticipate that will happen. But as we sit here today, I think it’s not likely that we’ll be filing any paperwork in January. I think I would be very surprised if that happened.”

The only reason some people think the Chargers are the most likely candidate to move is because we are so close and the team wants a new stadium. Big deal. I personally think that there are other teams that are better candidates than the Chargers. I also think that Roger Goodell/the NFL would be more against letting the Chargers move over another team like, say the Rams. Goodell doesn’t like teams moving unless there is a very good reason for it. Just because the Chargers want a new stadium, doesn’t constitute a good enough reason to let them skip town, at least in my mind anyway.

Nowhere and at no time has Dean Spanos threatened to leave San Diego, at least that I have heard.  Granted, some of Spanos’ PR moves have left us fans scratching our heads, but from what I’ve seen, he is doing what he can to keep the team here, rather than the opposite. I can’t see an owner spending millions of dollars to find a way to keep the Chargers here if he planned on skipping town later. For anyone to say that the Chargers will move at this point in time is pure speculation and opinion, based on zero fact. Of course, realistically speaking, I understand that things could change in the future but right now there is NO reason to think the Chargers are moving. End of story.

Fear not Charger fans, I sincerely think the Chargers will get something done to stay in our great city. This whole stadium issue will eventually end up on ballot and as Charger fans and voters, we need to make sure that happens.