-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
San Diego Chargers plan to announce that they are moving to Los Angeles
- Thread starter jbug617
- Start date
- Status
Ever since Marty was fired, Spanos has seen fit to sabotage his own team from being succussful here in SD. Kept bad players, coaches, and general managers for too long. Because of him focusing more on getting a stadium than a winning team, Spanos has sent a Super Bowl contenter to a team that couldn't beat a winless one. It's stunning to see an owner who has no concept (or just doesn't care) why the city didn't want to play ball and give him a stadium that he's not mainly paying for. Been a chargers fan since I could cheer for them and it's been a long-suffering life being one. This is going to sting and it'll be tough to cheer for a team that gave up and left.
The Lone Courier
Member
Who isn't being stabbed by a Raider fan?
Nobody wanted to watch garbage Rams football by week 7 if that. They ruined my Sundays by being on tv. Theres no windfall. Just a annoyance if I see anyone in Rams gear.
Black Mamba
Member
First off, the NFL shares media revenue so local ratings aren't relevant in the same way it is for an NBA team.
So while 10% in LA might be better than 25% in STL, it doesn't go directly to the team owner, it goes to the league as a whole.
The second issue is that one needs to compare the LA NFL ratings PRE-RAMS and POST-RAMS. If the overall viewership is down, and down in StL, then the NFL will lose money, including the Rams.
This is a colossal mistake, IMO.
jstevenson
Sailor Stevenson
Fewer people are watching the NFL everywhere.
You can't expect it to flip over night, LA fans got other teams, etc. They sold season tickets in no time, you see Rams stuff all over town. It was year one, with a shitty team, in a horrible stadium.
And I'm not bragging about it - it's just true. Are you going to spend 100s of dollars, brave traffic and parking, to watch a crappy team in a bad stadium? Or are you gonna go to have a hike, go to the beach, maybe see a bit of the game in the bar?
If the Rams give the reason to LA to invest in them, they will, but it's a hard sell right now. Folks were on-board into Oct/early Nov.
I don't know the numbers but someone could find, I'm sure. That said, NFL TV ratings were down across the board this year, so that has to be taken into account.
From a pure fan count, LA has a lot more folks, I see lots of Rams gear in town. I think the new stadium will help them, and if they can even be remotely competitive and exciting to watch, I think they will sell out their games
The current quality of the team is irrelevant, that can change in a hurry.
It's a terrible move because the city has never shown it can support one franchise, let alone two in the same building. The right play was always finding a way to privately fund a new stadium in San Diego, and not be scared by the Rams being just 'down the road'.
In 15 years one of those two teams will have moved again I wager.
Makes me so happy to have Steven Ross as an owner, he never threatened to leave, didn't get any public money (obviously), but just renovated Dolphins Stadium with his own coin with little fuss and did a great job. You don't have to look at the stadium and think the money could have been spent on schools somewhere or some bullshit.
It's a terrible move because the city has never shown it can support one franchise, let alone two in the same building. The right play was always finding a way to privately fund a new stadium in San Diego, and not be scared by the Rams being just 'down the road'.
In 15 years one of those two teams will have moved again I wager.
Makes me so happy to have Steven Ross as an owner, he never threatened to leave, didn't get any public money (obviously), but just renovated Dolphins Stadium with his own coin with little fuss and did a great job. You don't have to look at the stadium and think the money could have been spent on schools somewhere or some bullshit.
Agent_ShortBus
Member
Damn im gonna miss high fiving and drinking with random strangers at the games. Im glad I at least got to go to the last game even though I knew we were gonna loose. Guess im gonna try and get into baseball. Go Padres!!
Megalosaro
Banned
This. I'm cool with the rams. Fuck the chargers and Philip Rivers bitch ass.
Black Mamba
Member
Of course I'm not claiming anything specifically about the ratings, just saying you made the wrong comparison.
It would also be interesting if the biggest drop in overall NFL ratings came from Los Angeles (in terms of major media markets).
I think this is a mistake. These teams have no history here, this city needs a reason to watch a team, and this isn't a real football town (it's basketball and baseball). And to the extent it is a football town, it's always been USC and some UCLA over the NFL.
If it was an organic team (meaning a new franchise starting from scratch) maybe. But in the new internet-digital age, I just don't see it. People over 25 have their teams and will stick with it. We're not a city that needs an NFL team or cares (unlike other cities).
I haven't seen the Rams gear you have. I still see more Raiders/Cowboys/Niners stuff. We'll see. I hate it. Not just as a niner fan but I loved getting all the other games instead of the crappy rams. Oh well. Less football watching for me. And many others I imagine.
titiklabingapat
Member
You're the one missing the point. The Rams calculated that even if less of LA watch, that's fine because it's still a bigger market just sheer size of it compared to STL.
Livingskeletons
If I pulled that off, would you die?
Black Mamba
Member
No, they didn't. because they don't get money from those ratings. NFL teams don't get individual media deals. it's split evenly among the 30 franchises.
They keep gate receipts, merch, and the like.
It sucks for the city of San Diego because when you go to San Diego the city is decked out in Chargers gear.
I'm also not going to blame the city for voting against tax hikes because the Owner and NFL did not want to invest more of their own money into a new stadium. Fuck them.
The Chargers are going to have trouble finding fans in L.A. with all the Rams, Raiders, 49er, Cowboys, Steeler etc. fans here.
Though if they start winning they'll inevitably garner interest.
I'm also not going to blame the city for voting against tax hikes because the Owner and NFL did not want to invest more of their own money into a new stadium. Fuck them.
The Chargers are going to have trouble finding fans in L.A. with all the Rams, Raiders, 49er, Cowboys, Steeler etc. fans here.
Though if they start winning they'll inevitably garner interest.
rokkerkory
Member
Damn that sucks!!
They also get the value of having a billion dollar stadium in the second largest media market for sponsor opportunities locally as well as real estate value. The franchise instantly doubled in value with the move.
I mean, the Rams did play in LA for 50 years.
On a tangential note, it's been great in St. Louis. We are able to watch the Chiefs with rabbit ears, so no more splurging on Sunday Ticket for me.
Too bad that stadium is there taking up space, though they do use it for other things. Place has been a dive since the day it was built. I hated going to games there.
Too bad that stadium is there taking up space, though they do use it for other things. Place has been a dive since the day it was built. I hated going to games there.
makingmusic476
Member
Teams need to be owned by local municipalities. /socialist
titiklabingapat
Member
If its about the money, Kroenke just got a sweet real estate development deal in the second largest real estate market in the country. With one of the highest national real estate prices. In California.
That stadium he got in Inglewood isn't going to be built alone, you know?
Yeah, they have talent on their team, they were just plagued by injuries this year.
For real. That's all there is to it.
Maybe if they kept Marty, They could've won one. Maybe then, we might be more open to paying your damn stadium.
Rapscallion
Member
Just moved to SD a few months ago ( about 10 minutes from the stadium) and it's clear natives love the team. Hard blow for many people.
Is there a big KC following over there? I've been curious to see whether you guys would assimilate or not. Also welcome to the party, bud. ANDY REID AND ALEX SMITH ARE GETTING RINGS THIS YEAR, BITCHES.
You don't understand how the TV revenue works in the NFL, do you? It's not fine. It's an embarrassment.
Black Mamba
Member
Sure, but I'm not arguing the value of the move, only the notion that tv ratings matter to a team's decision in any way. It doesn't.
There is no doubt their are other monetary factors at play here, namely the real estate and franchise value Kroenke got. But that doesn't mean it's necessarily the best business decision. Regardless, what might be good for the owner might be bad for the NFL.
And the Clippers have been here a long time. And while we do sustain the Clippers, their best season (very recent) are still dwarfed by the lakers 3 worst seasons ever.
We don't care about the Rams. Never will. We didn't care when they had some good teams in the past!
I'm not sure there is an all in assimilation, but I see plenty of Chiefs gear. It hasn't flooded stores or anything. I grew up in KC's market, though I've been near STL now for 20+ years. I've remained loyal to the Chiefs, though I did enjoy Warner's Rams. I stopped paying any attention when they ran him off, and I ultimately wound up a Cards fan when he retired. I think that was common here, given the team history and the Warner following. I will miss the Cards when I drop Sunday Ticket, but I'm fed up with the NFL.
Never did understand how Rams attendance was so damn good when it was so obvious the owner hated us and had no interest in winning.
Doctoglethorpe
Member
They'll come crawling back. Unfortunately.
I pass their old stadium every day, I hope it gets turned into a park. Idk why they put a stadium in the damn suburbs to begin with. Complete eye sore.
I pass their old stadium every day, I hope it gets turned into a park. Idk why they put a stadium in the damn suburbs to begin with. Complete eye sore.
LudicrousSpeed
Member
Unless you're talking about Spanos chipping in, yeah, it kinda is.
It sounds like the biggest contribution of public money to the deal is that Kroenke may get public funds for up to $180m for infrastructure (roads around the stadium plus some shuttle bus operations for getting fans to the game) in the form of reimbursements that only kick in after the stadium begins generating a certain level of revenue for the city.
It's not nothing, for sure, but in terms of public financing of stadiums it's on the low end of public contributions to building a stadium. He's building a $2.5b stadium, and public funds will pay for just over 7% of it, and that's only in the form of reimbursements after the stadium is operating and generating more than a certain threshold in revenue for the local area.
Big Baybee
Member
I honestly don't know what I'd do if the Saints left New Orleans. Had a legit scare after Katrina.
Frozenprince
Banned
Him hiring his idiot brother did it.
tiggerkiddo
Member
So how was Alex Spanos while he controlled the team?
Ive adopted the Chiefs. Went to the opener, the game in Indy, and now have tickets for Sunday.
Hope you see a good one Sunday. I've not seen the Chiefs live since Montana was QB, I don't think. Haven't seen an NFL game live since the Vikings playoff game when Rams won the Super Bowl.
But damn nice to catch quality games OTA, that's for sure. I'm no longer a DIRECTV hostage!
The Chargers have a pretty damn good team, they just got destroyed by injuries probably worse than any team this season.
They have the #7 pick in the upcoming draft the biggest question is if Phillip Rivers will want to play in Los Angeles or anywhere outside of San Diego.
Zen_Arcade
Banned
Get ready to be bitter until the day you die Chargers fans (And rightfully so). My Dad still hates the Irsay family and curses their name any chance he gets.
If you're anything like him you're still going to fucking hate Spanos even if you get another team because he took the name and history with him.
If you're anything like him you're still going to fucking hate Spanos even if you get another team because he took the name and history with him.
manzoman96
Member
Is the San Diego stadium really that bad that they've been trying to get a new one for 15 years?
Frozenprince
Banned
If Oakland-Alameda didn't literally leak shit it would be the worst stadium in America.
Awful stadium.
The Lone Courier
Member
Its a rundown shithole. Some high schools went as far as to play their championship games at a community college stadium further south.
Yeah, Qualcomm Stadium is a dump and is a good 40 minute drive from downtown San Diego. It was a bad stadium when I went to go watch John Elway and the Broncos play in 1998 and it was a dump when I went to watch a preseason game against the Packers in what was Aaron Rodgers first preseason.
It's location certainly didn't do any favors for fans all over San Diego county.
40? More like 10-15 minutes. But yeah, can confirm that Qualcomm Stadium is a rundown shithole.
titiklabingapat
Member
I dont care. Kroenke still comes out ahead, one way or another. Black Mamba said it best. What might be good for the owner isn't necessarily good for the NFL, which is my point.
Talking about the real estate development Kroenke is now able to do around the stadium. That land he was sitting on in Inglewood just went up in value at least ten fold.
manzoman96
Member
Oh wow I didn't know it was that bad. About 5 years ago I actually took a picture in front of the outside of it when I was on the west coast but didn't go inside. Yeah looking at aerial pics of it it's definitely one of those 60's-70's era stadiums.
Unknown Soldier
Member
We should also move the Raiders back to LA.
In fact, also move the Niners to LA.
You move to LA! And you move to LA! And you move to LA! Everyone moves to LA!
In fact, also move the Niners to LA.
You move to LA! And you move to LA! And you move to LA! Everyone moves to LA!
- Status