STADIUM TALK: Is Jerry Jones San Diego's Savior?

It is starting to become clear that the Chargers need someone to save them from themselves in this stadium situation. The Chargers are "fully committed" to Carson at this point, and honestly, they have to be, as Jeff has made very clear over the last few months. At this point, the only way the Chargers even consider coming back to negotiations is if the Carson option dies, and the only way Carson dies is at the word of the Owners.

The first big step towards that word being given happened yesterday. Both the Carson project and the Inglewood project were given a chance to make their first legitimate pitch to the other owners. During these presentations the owners were allowed to ask questions and discuss these plans. Eric Grubman, the point man for the league on the LA re-location project, stated today during an interview with The Beast 980's Fred Roggin, that the owners were actively engaged with both statements and questions during the presentations.

Now we have this video from Jason Cole at Bleacher Report. Cole says that the owners are already starting to form their camps backing one side or the other. Those on team Carson are doing so because they want to take care of the Chargers and Raiders who have outdated stadiums in their current home markets.

Team Inglewood looks like it is being headed by Cowboys owner Jerry Jones who was very vocal (shocking right?) in his support for the Inglewood project. Even getting up during the presentation to make a little speech highlighting the importance of having an owner with deep enough pockets to make this a successful move, and if you have done any research you'll know that far and away means Stan Kroenke.

If you want the Chargers to stay in San Diego, having Jerry Jones backing Kroenke's project is good news. First, Jones is obviously outspoken and passionate, but also has a good amount of influence, and is well respected among the other owners. Second, like I mentioned earlier, the only way the Chargers come back to the negotiating table is if Carson dies, so if the Inglewood plan wins, the team will be back to hash this out. Finally, since the other owners' main reasoning behind backing Carson is to get the Chargers and Raiders into better stadiums, this sets the ground work for possibly moving one of them (Raiders) in as a second tenant in Inglewood, and diverting a large portion of the relocation money paid by Kroenke to help fund a stadium for the other team (Chargers).  The reason it is more likely to shake out that way is due to the league's admission yesterday that Oakland has not made a viable offer to the Raiders, while San Diego has made significant progress in putting together a offer to the Chargers.

So, even though Jerry missed out on buying the Chargers about 30 years ago, he will likely still be very important in helping to decide their future. Go team Jerry!