The San Diego Chargers to LA and the Raiders situation

[sheajets]

Absolutely disheartening and perplexing. You have the Chargers muscling into a city that has absolutely no affinity or desire to have them. They will be playing in a rinky dink communist kickball stadium t'boot for several years furthering cementing themselves as small fries. Thus far everything PR related to their move has been a comical disaster

There have been some whispers in the media that the league is not just disappointing as Goodell stated but outright...incensed at Spanos stunt but keeping things as hushed up internally as they can. I hope somehow he's convinced of returning to a perfectly capable NFL city in San Diego. Heck the fact that Goodell stated his disappointment is a story in itself with how lockstep and on the same page these owners like to appear

The Raiders will again play in Oakland next season after the Las Vegas deal fell apart. I have no clue how this situation will resolve but San Diego wants nothing to do with them...LV may never happen...and where else is there to go? Will they make a stab at St. Louis?

I wish the Raiders would stop being so damn restless. You're the Oakland Raiders. Period.

[JohnR]

All ownership hubris aside, I think it'd be pretty cool to see an NFL game in a little stadium.

[Reaser]

All ownership hubris aside, I think it'd be pretty cool to see an NFL game in a little stadium.

On TV I've watched high school football and college football all-star games that were played at the Stubhub Center. Also watched a UCLA scrimmage online. Have a friend who was at the NFLPA game and said it's the same as any other stadium except without an upper bowl.

Regardless, I agree with shea in that it's both laughable and sad. More the latter, also embarrassing. LA doesn't want the Chargers and they couldn't even get themselves in one of the football stadiums and instead are a non-primary tenant in a soccer stadium. A 27k seat soccer stadium - though supposedly will be 30k for the Chargers so I guess it's the big time!

[Rupert Patrick]

I wonder how the NFL and networks will feel about nationally televising games from that tiny stadium in LA where the Chargers will play for the first two years. I know it's going to be weird for the viewers who are used to seeing 70-80 K stadiums to see a stadium less than half that size.

[sheajets]

If the Chargers are not good it will feel like a small time minor league environment, and NFL regular season games there will begin to feel like sleepy preseason Hall of Fame games in front of Minor League Baseball type crowds.

Not the image the NFL wants to project.

Even in front of sparse crowds the NFL belongs in real stadiums. It's not an intimate ballpark league. It's an intimidating monolithic league and has been for some time.

[Todd Pence]

I didn't realize the Chargers' new stadium only holds 30,000. Are you kidding me? Ivy League schools have bigger fields.

[JohnBowen]

I don't see this as being allowed to go through. Just my two cents worth.

[JohnR]

What's the mandatory minimum league stadium capacity? 55K? Out where I live I've attended games at Levi's, Stanford Stadium, and Cal's Memorial Stadium. By far, the best experience has been at Stanford.
Capacity of 45K. Worst seats up on the second deck still feel somewhat intimate. I felt lost in the vastness of Levi's.

[Rupert Patrick]

I didn't realize the Chargers' new stadium only holds 30,000. Are you kidding me? Ivy League schools have bigger fields.

It's just for two seasons until their new stadium is built. But you would think there are a number of other stadiums around LA they could use temporarily such as the Rose Bowl, or the Anaheim Angels stadium just to name two.

[sheajets]

What's the mandatory minimum league stadium capacity? 55K? Out where I live I've attended games at Levi's, Stanford Stadium, and Cal's Memorial Stadium. By far, the best experience has been at Stanford.
Capacity of 45K. Worst seats up on the second deck still feel somewhat intimate. I felt lost in the vastness of Levi's.

I believe it's 50,000. The Raiders Oakland Stadium proposal was an even 50k

RFK was the perfect NFL stadium, and the loudest. It only sat something like 56,000 but the design was perfect. A smallish lower deck, a larger upper deck that had a flowing design and an overhang, and an overhang above that which deflected noise back down and protected fans from the elements.

It was very compact. No layers upon layers of luxury boxes pushing the upper deck into the stratosphere.

Shea was thunderous and it shook. The place moved and swayed. And it was a horseshoe design...there were a ton of seats jammed into the closed end (home plate) which was very close to the field as well. I just remember that 1981 win over Miami with Todd hitting Barkum in the endzone in the waning seconds was the single loudest sporting event I ever went to. And it was obscene and raucous. The drugs, the booze, the fighting. And that was a regular season game.