The San Diego Chargers took steps this week to build interim facilities in Santa Ana should the Bolts decide to move to the Los Angeles area and share a stadium there with the Rams, the Orange County Register reported Thursday.
The team confirmed to KPBS that the Chargers submitted plans to the city of Santa Ana for a 5-acre parcel that would house a practice facility and team headquarters should the team decide to leave San Diego.
The statement, released by Chargers special counsel Mark Fabiani, said in part:
"The Chargers were granted the right to relocate to Los Angeles by vote of the NFL’s ownership on January 12, 2016. The franchise is continuing to review all of its options, and no final decision on relocation has been made. It was necessary for the team to submit the grading and landscape plans now because of the long lead time necessary to secure land use approvals and to prepare the natural grass practice fields in time for the team’s offseason workout schedule."
Chargers owner Dean Spanos had lobbied National Football League owners to let the team join with the Oakland Raiders to build a stadium in Carson, but that idea was rejected this month.
Instead, the owners voted 30-2 to allow Stan Kroenke, owner of the St. Louis Rams, to move his team to Inglewood and build a stadium there. The NFL has given the Chargers an option to join them. If the team declines, the option would transfer to the Raiders.
San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer remains hopeful that the Chargers will stay put and work with the city and county to build the team a new stadium — either at the city-owned Qualcomm Stadium site or in downtown. Either option would not be done without a public vote, Faulconer has said, and that's been a concern for Spanos. The team is not confident such a measure would pass.
Two weeks after Spanos spoke separately by phone on Jan. 14 with Faulconer and county Supervisor Ron Roberts, there have been no further contacts, their spokesmen told City News Service on Thursday.
The news agency reported that Fabiani said he gave City Attorney Jan Goldsmith an update on Thursday, which he said wasn't an unusual occurrence. A Goldsmith spokesman confirmed the conversation and also downplayed its significance.
In a related developments on Thursday:
• Sheldon Adelson, the billionaire owner of the Las Vegas Sands casino company in Las Vegas, wants to help build a domed stadium on the UNLV campus and is meeting with the owner of the Raiders, company officials said.
Sands spokesman Ron Reese said the casino company envisions a public-private partnership to build a $1 billion, 65,000-seat stadium that could be shared by a professional team and UNLV. The Sands would likely partner with other investors and might seek to draw on public revenue sources, such as hotel room tax revenue earmarked for promoting tourism.
The Raiders have no lease for a stadium for next season. The team is negotiating a short-term extension with officials in Oakland and Alameda County but is also looking for a permanent new home to replace the outdated Coliseum.
Adelson has scheduled a Friday meeting with Raiders owner Mark Davis. Reese didn't elaborate on the nature of their discussions, and the Raiders declined comment.
• The government body that oversees the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum met Thursday afternoon to consider a proposal to allow two NFL teams to temporarily share the historic stadium with the USC Trojans.
The Coliseum commission would be amending USC's current lease, which allows only one NFL team. Under the current plans, that would be the Rams.
The commission is a joint-powers authority with representatives of the state of California, Los Angeles County and the city of Los Angeles.
