So the most disappointing thing about this for a Raiders fan is that we still don't know a damn thing. I figure the chances of Spanos taking LA are about 75-80%, but he is just as invested in his "I won't partner with Kroenke" position as he is in his "I can't go back to San Diego" position. The Chargers sent out this email to their season ticket holders last night that was non-committal:
The reason I think there is a 25% chance Spanos doesn't go to LA is that he doesn't have $500M to immediately invest in partnering with Kroenke, he would have to take the $1 a year lease option in Inglewood and cede all input to stadium / site design and lose the ancillary revenues the site generates. I think Mark Davis would take that deal in a cocaine heartbeat, but there is a chance Spanos does not.
The third option that noone is discussing is that now is the time for Spanos to self if he is going to do that. He would be selling an NFL franchise with an option to move to Los Angeles. That is worth $2B. Anyone who can afford that freight (Ellison?) can also afford the partner costs with Kroenke in Inglewood. So I guess my Chargers breakdown is this:
-Moves to LA under Spanos - 50%
-Moves to LA after being sold for a ton of money - 25%
-Stays in San Diego mostly out of spite - 25%
For us Raider fans, the answer is "who fucking knows." The Raiders will probably re-up their lease for one year, and would certainly take the tenant deal in Inglewood instantly, but beyond that anything is possible. Several people have noted that, if the Chargers move, San Diego has to be very attractive to him, certainly more than San Antonio. I assume the Raiders will explore Portland and Vegas (which would be perfect, but never happen) and I doubt San Antonio is something McNair and Jones would let happen.
If the city of Oakland compromised with Marc and gave him an acceptable portion of the land, (call it 110 of the 160 acres of the current site) and paid for $100m in infrastructure, as well as ate the still hanging Mt Davis costs, Marc would still need to find $500M to finish the project. The A's with their 10 year lease would also need to be bought off the land, though the Warrior move in 2017. It is easy to see why Oakland doesn't look that much more promising with an extra $100M in Marc's pocket.
EDIT:
As Florio pointed out this morning, Stan Kroenke has no real incentive to play nice with his future partner. His motivation now is to make coming to LA as unappealing as possible to Spanos without getting sanctioned by the rest of the ownership:
And before they can move to Inglewood, the Chargers have to work out a deal with the Rams and owner Stan Kroenke. Given the recent example of the manner in which Kroenke negotiates with a city
he claims to love, how will he negotiate with a partner who also will become a competitor?
Lost in the flow chart the NFL devised on Wednesday in giving Kroenke the first golden ticket to L.A. is the fact that he now controls whether the second golden ticket ever will be used.
Here's the big question: Will the LA Rams go back to the royal blue and yellow?
They should go back to the royal blue and white.