A report from Albert Breer of NFL Media this week had the league feeling confident that there would be a team moving to Los Angeles for the 2016 season and Colts owner Jim Irsay said Wednesday that he believed it is a question of how many teams will be making the jump, but NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell wasn’t willing to go that far during his press conference at the owners meetings.
The Rams, Raiders and Chargers are all involved in plans for new stadiums in Los Angeles while efforts of varying strength go on in their local markets to erect new buildings. On Wednesday, Goodell was asked if he thought it was inevitable that at least one team would be moving to L.A. in the near future.
“No I don’t. I think there is significant progress, but I don’t think it’s inevitable,” Goodell said. “There is certainly momentum, there is certainly opportunities. I can’t remember the last time we had two facilities that were actually entitled and being developed. That’s a positive development, but a lot more work has to be done.”
Goodell said he hasn’t decided whether to shrink the timeline for relocation applications and cited the need to make sure there was “sufficient time” for the local markets to make their best proposals. Goodell said he hasn’t reviewed the latest proposal from San Diego and hasn’t “heard directly from” Oakland, but that there’s been good progress in St. Louis.