Roger Goodell: NFL will consider all L.A. possibilities
Commissioner Roger Goodell and the NFL team owners met in Illinois on Tuesday to review the presentations of the competing L.A.-area stadium plans.
REPORTING FROM SCHAUMBURG, Ill. — Relocation-minded NFL teams made their pitches Tuesday, but it will take months to know how well they performed.
That’s when the league’s owners are expected to decide which teams, if any, will be given permission to move. The vote could come as early as December, although the situation remains fluid.
In a special one-day meeting taking place at a hotel near O’Hare Airport, owners of the league’s 32 teams heard presentations of competing L.A.-area projects. St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke is proposing a stadium in Inglewood, while San Diego Chargers owner Dean Spanos and Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis are touting a stadium in Carson.
“There is not a possibility that’s being taken off the table,†NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said when asked about different permutations in the three-team, two-stadium game of musical chairs. (There will not be two new stadiums constructed in the market.)
“We’re just looking for the right solution.â€
The Chargers and Raiders, represented by former NFL team executive Carmen Policy, made a Carson presentation that lasted 30 minutes in the closed-door meeting, plus five minutes of questions and answers. Owners asked three questions about that proposal, although Policy didn’t disclose what was asked.
“We were able to cover everything we thought was important, and I honestly couldn’t have asked for a more attentive audience,†Policy said.
The Rams went longer, almost an hour, and talked about a “Los Angeles Entertainment Center†on the nearly 300-acre Inglewood site. In addition to sporting events, they talked about the potential to host the Grammys, Golden Globes and Academy Awards.
In an encouraging note for the city of San Diego, NFL Executive Vice President Eric Grubman, who is overseeing the process, said that city has made “a significant amount of progress†but noted there are still many open questions about the bid for a new stadium there.
Follow Sam Farmer on Twitter @LATimesfarmer
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