For the first time in more than 20 years, Los Angeles could have a professional football team — or three.
The St. Louis Rams, the San Diego Chargers, and the Oakland Raiders filed applications with the NFL to move their franchises to L.A. for the 2016 football season, the league announced Monday. The Rams and Raiders were both based in L.A. until the mid '90s.
NFL committees will begin to review each application this week and they will be presented to the league meeting for consideration next week. Franchise relocation requires approval from 24 of the 32 NFL clubs.
Dean Spanos explains why the team has filed for relocation. WATCH: https://t.co/Re3WbHI4L8
In a statement, the Chargers said they would respect the decision of the league.
"We have tried for more than 14 years, through nine separate proposals and seven different mayors, to create a world-class stadium experience for fans in San Diego," the team said. "Despite these efforts, there is still no certain, actionable solution to the stadium problem. We are sad to have reached this point."
The Chargers and Raiders have proposed a plan to share a stadium in the city of Carson, just outside Los Angeles. In February, the teams released a joint statement that they would move if they could not find economically viable stadium solutions within their home cities.
Meanwhile, the owner of the St. Louis Rams has been moving forward with plans to build a stadium on property he owns in Inglewood.