CHARGERS TESTING THE LOS ANGELES WATERS?

In the latest chapter of the never-ending saga of the NFL potentially returning to Los Angeles, the San Diego Chargers have hired an L.A. marketing firm, the Los Angeles Times reports. Although the article by Sam Farmer described the hiring of Wasserman Media Group as a move to promote the Chargers in L.A. and Orange County, it also notes that the transaction will probably be interpreted by many as an NFL franchise testing the waters for a possible move to the nation’s second-largest market. Los Angeles hasn’t had a team to call its own since the Raiders and Rams left town following the 1994 season. “The bottom line is Los Angeles and Orange County are two of the most lucrative markets in the world,” Mark Fabiani, who leads the Chargers’ efforts on stadium issues, told the Times. “There’s no NFL team in those markets, and there’s no reason the Chargers can’t pursue those areas in these difficult economic times.” Per the article, the Chargers have clashed with local officials for the past seven years in their efforts to get a new stadium built. And the team’s three-month window to move the franchise starts ticking Sunday, which happens to be the the same day as Super Bowl XLIII. According to the team’s lease arrangement with the city of San Diego, that chance to relocate the team will continue to open for three months annually at this time of year. Meanwhile, the city of San Diego is prevented from seeking legal remedies against the Chargers or the league to stop a move if it’s compensated with a $56 million termination fee that will shrink each year. (Random Ron Burgundy line goes here: Great Odin’s raven! By the way, I bet the Anchorman loved the Chargers’ groovy fight song.) Whether it’s saber-rattling or not, the Chargers seem determined to explore their options after spending $10 million to look into potential new stadium sites in Chula Vista in San Diego County. “We’re definitely a lot closer to the end of this process than the beginning,” Fabiani said. “This is not a process that can go on forever.” When it comes to possibly packing up and moving, the Chargers seem to be poised to bolt ahead of the Oakland Raiders and the Minnesota Vikings because they’re both contractually bound to their respective cities through the 2011 season. Even if a team wants to move, there are unresolved stadium issues in Southern California. The latest stadium proposal on the table is Ed Roski’s idea to build a stadium in the small town of Industry, Calif. There’s also talk about a possible L.A. Super Bowl. “I would be open-minded,” Tampa Bay Buccaneers owner Bryan Glazer said. “We have to see the situation in L.A. at the time, the potential for solving the situation there. .. I think it’s more important to have a team in L.A., whether it’s the 49th or the 53rd Super Bowl. That’s the bigger issue.” While there are a ton of thorny issues involved here, there’s also a lot of potential money to be made if the NFL ever returns to Los Angeles. And that’s why this conversation never seems to die.