Three NFL teams - the San Diego Chargers, Oakland Raiders, and the St. Louis Rams - are expected to apply for relocation in Los Angeles in early 2016, with all three teams applying in January, and a resolution would coming shortly after, but it may take a bit longer than originally expected. New York Jets owner Woody Johnson said a decision could come as late as March, according to NFL reporter Jason Cole.
While the three owners of these organizations are moving forward with plans of moving their team to Los Angeles, officials from Oakland, St. Louis, and San Diego spoke on Wednesday on why they should keep their team. "This was an important day, and the passion of the cities came through," said NFL executive Eric Grubman, via ESPN. "The fans spoke in a very powerful way (at public forums in late October), and this was the opportunity for city leadership to speak with the passion they have directly to the owners."
The Raiders and the Chargers have a combined project for a stadium in Carson, and have just hired chairman and chief executive of the Walt Disney Company, Bob Iger to lead their proposed stadium project. Rams owner Stan Kroenke is trying to move his team to Inglewood, but has run into problems with FAA regulations on the proposed stadium.
Grubman, as well as other owners, have stated there is no specific timetable for when their will be a decision on this matter, according to the Associated Press. The league has set a specific meeting in Dallas on Dec. 2, where considerable steps in the relocation could be resolved. By March a vote will almost be a necessity, as NFL owners would have to decide if a team or teams will be moving to Los Angeles in 2016.
