[Elvis]

http://www.latimes.com/sports/nfl/la-sp ... story.html

NFL owners to meet this week; no vote on L.A. expected until January

NFL owners will convene at league headquarters this week to discuss the future of their sport in Los Angeles, which has been without a franchise for 20 years.

Although the clock is ticking on their goal of returning for the 2016 season, this clearly isn't the 11th hour in the eyes of the league.

There are no votes on L.A. scheduled for these meetings, and there probably won't be any votes on the topic at the December meetings in Dallas, either.

Owners are eyeing January as decision time for which site they will choose, Inglewood or Carson, and which one or two of the three teams considering relocation — the San Diego Chargers, Oakland Raiders, and St. Louis Rams — will get the green light to go.

The Inglewood project always has targeted a December groundbreaking in order to be open in time for the 2018 season. The NFL's timeline calls for a decision to be made after that, so that's a noteworthy conflict.

Renderings: NFL stadium proposals for Los Angeles
Los Angeles has had several sites proposed for an NFL stadium over the years yet the nation's second-largest city is still without a team.
Rams owner Stan Kroenke is backing the Inglewood plan. Chargers owner Dean Spanos and Raiders owner Mark Davis have teamed for a competing proposal in Carson.

What the NFL doesn't want is for this process to come down to a vote that pits the two projects, which would mean that one or two of the owners would emerge from that room as a loser and have to return to a market he has tried to leave.

The league is looking for a managed outcome, probably a grand bargain among the teams involved, and then to put that solution to a vote that would garner support from at least the requisite 24 of 32 owners.

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There is a possibility the league could push the pause button on the process — an outcome people in L.A. know well — but both NFL executives and owners on the six-member Committee on Los Angeles Opportunities say it is more likely that they are going to move forward and finally make a decision on relocation.

The main meeting will take place Wednesday at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, though there will be various committee meetings Tuesday at NFL headquarters, two blocks up Park Avenue. Meeting Tuesday are the Super Bowl, NFL Foundation, L.A., and Health and Safety committees.

The primary focus of the Wednesday meeting will be L.A., but there will be discussions and action taken on expanding the series of international games beyond London — possibly including one in Mexico City — and an update by the Competition Committee on the state of the game.

The Wednesday meeting will be divided into morning and afternoon sessions. In the morning session, NFL staff will give a series of presentations on progress (or lack thereof) on possible stadium deals in San Diego, St. Louis and Oakland. There probably will be talk of temporary stadiums in the L.A. market.

The afternoon session will be discussion by a smaller group composed of only team owners, with the theory being they will feel more comfortable expressing their thoughts and opinions in that intimate setting. The format was similar at the August meetings in Chicago, though at those the three owners involved were excused from the room. Wednesday, they will be allowed in the room for at least part of the discussion.

There is concern among at least some members of the L.A. Committee that the three owners considering relocation are currently spending a lot of money to fund a small army of architects, designers and engineers. This meeting will be a reminder that, despite all the money a particular owner is spending, there's no guarantee he will get the thumbs up to relocate.

Also, there are owners who come down on both sides of the argument about the wisdom of putting two teams in the L.A. market simultaneously. No other league has done that in any market, and there are significant risks and challenges involved.

Standing pat

Ryan Mallett has retained his spot as Houston's starting quarterback for now, despite his lackluster performance in the Texans' 48-21 loss to Atlanta on Sunday. Coach Bill O'Brien had replaced Mallett with Brian Hoyer after his team fell behind, 42-0, and after the game the coach said he needed to watch film to decide on a starting quarterback for Week 5.

Because the Texans play host to Indianapolis on Thursday, O'Brien ultimately reasoned the time frame was too compressed to make a quarterback change.

Fancy footwork

With a longer distance for extra-point attempts, the gimmes are over in the NFL. And there were several missed field-goal attempts in critical situations Sunday. But for the season, the percentage of made kicks is on pace with what we've seen in the last three seasons.

Through Sunday's game, kickers had made 198 of 237 attempts (83.5%). At the same point last season, kickers had made 200 of 236 (84.7%), and in 2013, 201 of 243 (82.7%).

So although the misses might feel like a trend, they aren't.

sam.farmer@latimes.com

[BuiltRamTough]

So much for sipping egg nog and enjoying the announcement . I'll be back to my Hennessy and enjoying the announcement in January.

[Ramfan46]

Gotta try and maintain leverage and sell tickets til the end of the regular season. I figure if the ground breaking happens in December its game over. I'm a huge motorsports fan so I'm used to huge future moves and plans being found out months in advance of formal announcements. Most people around here are pretty good at reading between the lines IMO.

[BuiltRamTough]

Gotta try and maintain leverage and sell tickets til the end of the regular season. I figure if the ground breaking happens in December its game over. I'm a huge motorsports fan so I'm used to huge future moves and plans being found out months in advance of formal announcements. Most people around here are pretty good at reading between the lines IMO.

Also, what if the teams involved make the playoffs and get a home game in Janurary when the announcement is made.

Win the first game and it's divisional round and again a home game.

Win the second game then the conference championship game. The whole world will be watching a game with 5k in the stadium and constant chatter and drama.

You never know with the Rams and Chargers. The division is still in the air.

I'll be shocked if the Raiders make it that far.

[Stranger]

Gotta try and maintain leverage and sell tickets til the end of the regular season. I figure if the ground breaking happens in December its game over.

Yup.

[bluecoconuts]

So the question is does Stan still break ground in December, and would the NFL dare say no to him if he started building already?

[Hacksaw]

Sooo, they want the 3 owners to come up with "a managed outcome, probably a grand bargain among the teams involved" . What do the likes of Spanos and Davis have to offer ESK? The hall pass to LA? lol.. If this is truly the league desire, it only works one way, ESK pitches cash at their stadium funding's.

This December and January conflict is interesting. This is either the NFL diverting the attention from the earlier made decision,, or ESK will push the envelope proving his projects momentum and start digging before "the announcement". (so LeBronze)
> He digs, he's gone! No one thinks Stan will be the loser in this do they ?

As far as delaying a year, it just ain't gonna happen. ESK has more than likely already waited a year and won't lose all his leverage by allowing the others to catch up.

When the owners meet on Tues, I think the initial conversations there will be important. Weds meeting in session 2 will be huge. I am praying ESK sells himself as well as the project. It sort of sells itself, but guys this is zero hour, despite the January talk. That's the announcement but the decision will be made this week and solidified in Nov-Dec.

On a side note, the NFL's erroneous warning to millionaires about developing architectural plans as the costs may bear no fruit. Give me a break. This occurs all the time in building. Daily 3 times over in every municipality. As if the likes of Kroenke doesn't look at this as the cost of doing business. Makes me smell a rat.

And the discussion about only one team. Well who really thinks the NFL will award the tard in SD the entire southern Cali region. We're talking Santa Barbara to San Diego. ROTFLMAO at that notion. Well that way at least he wouldn't play second fiddle to another team.

This is a big week for our dream of the return of the Los Angeles Rams. Put your hands together, your best foot forward and shout out a prayer for things to return to the way they were.

[majik]

I would think Farmer's "grand bargain" would be hashed out by December and if Inglewood is indeed the winner construction would begin after the Tampa game but before the official announcement. The monkey wrench I hadn't thought about was the prospect of a Rams home playoff game. Even though an official announcement wouldn't be made until the week between the Conference Championships and the Super Bowl, Stan needs to start construction to open by Sept 2018. Of course the PD ostrich crowd would see the big hole in Inglewood as a WalMart subterranean parking garage anyone with a functioning brain would know the decision then

[BuiltRamTough]

So the question is does Stan still break ground in December, and would the NFL dare say no to him if he started building already?

December/January what's the difference. We've been told December all this time. If we were told January then everything would have been right on schedule.

A couple of weeks here and there isn't a big deal. Let the season be over, take a deep breath enjoy Xmas. Then a big ground breaking ceremony. That makes a ton of sense.