Exclusive Interview: Mayor Kevin Faulconer previews his meeting with owner of Kansas City Chiefs
SAN DIEGO (KUSI) – Of all the uncertainty that’s engulfed the NFL’s plan to have football return to the Los Angeles market, one thing appears certain – the league and the teams do not want that uncertainty to go on for another year.
Yet it could because neither the Chargers nor the Rams have enough votes to move, yet each has enough votes to block the other from moving.
The next step is for the six owners on the L.A. committee to make a recommendation on which team or teams can move.
We may get an answer at the owner’s annual meeting in early December.
When the Chargers halted negotiations in June, Mayor Kevin Faulconer shifted his strategy to dealing with the NFL directly, including meetings with members of the L.A. committee individually.
"I’ll be meeting with the owner of the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday, again its an opportunity to meet face to face, here’s what we’ve been doing in San Diego, here’s the plan that we put forward," Mayor Faulconer said.
There is no hard evidence this is bearing fruit. The league is skeptical the city’s plan is viable, there is no guarantee a vote will be successful and several target deadlines have been missed.
"San Diego continues to meet every challenge, every hurdle, that’s something I’m proud of," Mayor Faulconer said.
Then there’s the Environmental Impact Report that was due October 15th.
"We’re putting the finishing touches on that, we’ll be ready to bring that before the full council for certification," the mayor added.
The league and the city are working on two different time frames. The city blames the Chargers for not being a willing partner.
"The timetable that we’re on we continue to meet that, continue to have a plan that’s ready to go for voters to approve, and I think they received that message very clearly," Mayor Faulconer said.
In the meantime, the Rams Inglewood Stadium ran into trouble after questions arose about the height of its stadium interfering with flights out of LAX.
Owners Stan Kroenke may want a year delay thinking it might bring a better deal in St. Louis or the Carson project could collapse, or San Diego and the Chargers actually work out a deal.
But what if the voters turn that down?
"You do like any election, you re-group, say this is important we’re gonna figure out a way to get this done," said County Supervisor Ron Roberts.
We’ll know when the end is near when the league opens up the relocation window to allow teams to file for relocation.
