From zero to three in 18 months.
The city of Los Angeles, which is going on its 21st year without a professional football team in 2015, may find itself with as many as three teams, the Los Angeles Times reports.
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The San Diego Chargers and the Oakland Raiders, AFC West rivals on the field, have joined forces off the field on a plan to build a $1.7 billion stadium in Carson, Calif., that will serve as home to the two franchises.
The stadium would be privately funded and will move forward if both teams can't work out deals with their respective home cities. The new project is being called "Carson2gether," enlisting a group of business and labor leaders and will be announced officially today.
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According to The Sporting News, the stadium would be less than 20 minutes from downtown Los Angeles.
"We are pursuing this stadium option in Carson for one straightforward reason: If we cannot find a permanent solution in our home markets, we have no alternative but to preserve other options to guarantee the future economic viability of our franchises," the Chargers and Raiders told the Times in a joint statement.
The proposal arose in response to St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke's plans to build an 80,000-seat stadium in Inglewood, Calif. His franchise, meanwhile, has changed its lease with the city of St. Louis to be a year-to-year deal.
The Chargers and Raiders also have one-year lease agreements with their respective locations, The Sporting News reported.
"This is a great opportunity to return professional football to Los Angeles, and we are going to do everything we can to make it happen," Starwood Capital Group Chairman Barry Sternlicht said, according to The Sporting News.
The projected capacity for the new stadium would be 68,000-72,000.
"We're thinking about the project as a 21st century, next-generation stadium," said architect David Manica, noting that the venue and renderings are still in the early conceptual stages, the Times reported. "We want it to be the ultimate outdoor event experience, which includes both sports and entertainment. And we want it to be uniquely L.A."
None of the three teams have yet committed to moving to Los Angeles.
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