A plan to move the San Diego Chargers to Los Angeles is almost a done deal, multiple sources tell NBC4's Fred Roggin.
Chargers owner and chairman Dean Spanos said he would not make a final decision about moving the franchise to Los Angeles until after the season, but NBC4 has learned many of the building blocks are in place.
The Chargers would train in Orange County and there are no plans to rebrand, sources say.
The agreement with the Chargers to lease the as-yet-to-be-built Inglewood stadium has been executed and sources say, soon to be signed. The Rams signed an agreement with the NFL before moving to Los Angeles agreeing to lease space to another team.
The Chargers drive for a new stadium to replace their aging residence fell short in the Nov. 8 election, re-energizing talk of a move to Los Angeles. The ballot initiative's failure left everything in play, including a future move to join the Rams in their new Inglewood stadium, opening in 2019, and the possibility of a more aggressive timeline that would likely mean playing at the LA Memorial Coliseum with the Rams until a new stadium is built in Inglewood.
L.A. Coliseum Commission president Mark Ridley-Thomas confirmed earlier this week that the Chargers have spoken with the commission.
"In light of the vote of the people of San Diego, it's back on the table in earnest," Ridley-Thomas told USA Today. "So the appropriate amount of due diligence continues to be done, and we will see if in fact we can strike a deal."
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Also this week, Spanos and San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer met to discuss the team's future in San Diego.
A move to the Coliseum would likely require a change to the stadium's lease terms, which currently allow for only one NFL team -- the Rams.
This all might sound somewhat familiar to football fans in Los Angeles, San Diego and Oakland. In January 2016, the Rams, Chargers and Raiders all appeared to be candidates for a move to LA.
NFL owners later approved the Rams' move at a meeting in Houston. A proposal to build a new stadium in Inglewood, opening in 2019, beat out a competing stadium plan in Carson, where the Chargers and Raiders planned to built a 72,000-seat stadium. The Chargers applied to relocate to LA, but that plan was rejected by league owners.
The Chargers, who have played in San Diego since 1961, were given the option of joining the Rams in the Inglewood stadium. They have until Jan. 15 to make a decision.
NFL team relocations require three-fourths approval of the member teams.
