It seems the notion of an NFL team in Los Angeles may only be one short year away from becoming a reality.
"According to multiple involved parties, momentum continues to build toward the league returning to the L.A. market in 2016 after 21 years away," writes Albert Breer of NFL.com.
"One NFL source said the league is 'confident there'll be multiple options' on the table to make that a reality by the end of the calendar year, as the owners gather for the spring meeting in San Francisco."
Chief amongst those multiple options are St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke's Hollywood Park project in Inglewood and the Oakland Raiders and San Diego Chargers joint venture in Carson.
Kroenke's proposal remains in the lead thanks in large part to his deep pockets.
Per Breer, the Raiders and Chargers project has taken significant steps forward in recent days though, moving transactions to put sections of land in the right hands for the project to move forward.
Unfortunately for Raiders fans hopeful of keeping the team in Oakland, per Breer, the city's plan for building a downtown stadium "has moved backwards since March, losing time without making any progress."
The NFL conducted site visits to Oakland, St. Louis and San Diego this spring in order to develop reports on market surveys and gauge timelines for the process of building new stadiums.
"The NFL will tell the owners that St. Louis' progress toward a downtown stadium remains steady, design work has continued and that the confidence the league has in state money there remains high, despite a lawsuit between the state and city. San Diego, meanwhile, took a step forward this week with its stadium task force issuing a report," writes Breer.
Oakland on the other hand has made little headway, increasing the likelihood that the Raiders are not long for the city, assuming Davis' Los Angeles relocation plan continues to make progress.
