So why did the NFL’s owners choose to reject the 5-1 recommendation of the Committee on L.A. Opportunities and embrace Stan Kroenke’s Inglewood project over the Chargers-Raiders proposal in Carson?
It came down to the two projects, and specifically how they were presented to owners on Tuesday.
As one person who witnessed the presentations told PFT, the owners were “blown away” by Kroenke’s proposal, which was presented to ownership by Rams COO Kevin Demoff.
“Stan’s proposal was like watching Star Wars,” the source said, adding that the Carson proposal “was like watching a home movie from the ’70s.”
“Surely, you’re exaggerating,” I said to the source.
“I’m not exaggerating,” the source replied.
That’s a bit of a slap at Disney CEO Bob Iger, who made the presentation on behalf of the Chargers and Raiders (and whose company made the latest Star Wars movie). But, as the source explained it, Iger’s hands were tied by a project that the ownership, once it saw it, immediately concluded it simply didn’t compare to Inglewood.
So why did Iger get involved? The thinking is that Panthers owner Jerry Richardson, who strongly was opposed to allowing Kroenke to move to Inglewood, pursued Iger as a Hail Mary play, using Iger’s desire to becoming a minority owner of a team after his Disney career ends to lure him to the table.
It wasn’t enough, not after Kroenke pulled the sheet off his NFL city for owners who, beyond the L.A. Committee, hadn’t seen the full details before Tuesday. Once they did — and once the ballots were made secret — it became a no-brainer.