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Roger Goodell describes Chargers' move as 'painful'
By Jeremy Bergman NFL.com
One week following the Chargers' rally celebrating their move from San Diego to Los Angeles, the franchise's change in address is still the talk of many in the NFL community, from fans up to executives.
Ahead of his Super Bowl news conference next Wednesday, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell went on The Herd, hosted by Colin Cowherd, on Wednesday to discuss multiple league issues, including the Bolts' move up the coast.
As he has in previous interviews, Goodell expressed disappointment that the Chargers and the city of San Diego were unable to reach a deal for the organization to stay in its home city of 55-plus years.
"We're all disappointed and we all worked very, very hard with local officials, with the Chargers, with the Spanos family, with all of our clubs and we did some unprecedented things to try and keep the Chargers in San Diego, which was our first priority," Goodell said. "That's why all of our relocations, these are painful processes. They're painful for our fans, they're painful for the communities in general, they're painful for the NFL, and so we always work to avoid that and we did that in San Diego.
"We worked very hard to try to avoid it, to make sure that we went not just the extra mile but the extra three or four miles, including the Chargers had the opportunity to move, frankly, a year ago," Goodell continued. "They stayed. (Owner) Dean (Spanos) wanted to try and give it another shot. He went for a referendum. Unfortunately, that did not pass, and then the consequence where everybody in that community recognizes a new stadium has to be built. They have for several years. They recognized there have been many failed attempts at getting that done that all of us bear responsibility for.
"So for us it is disappointing. We would have loved to have the Chargers in San Diego. I think Dean Spanos would be the first to tell you that. But we have to look forward, we have to look long-term and we have to ultimately make sure we're doing what's best for each of our franchises but with a very, very strong consideration to making sure we've done everything possible for our fans."
When pressed by Cowherd about whether the NFL's owners would have put in more of an effort to prevent the relocation of a more "entrenched" franchise, like the Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles or Chicago Bears, Goodell explained that the league has crossed that bridge before.
"I don't think you're being cynical, but I think if you go back and look at the facts over the period of time, we've been very successful in getting stadiums built in those communities," Goodell offered. "Each of the franchises you mentioned have had stadium challenges, but they were able to work through them. They were able to get them done with the local community leadership and the team and we are the only league in sports to my knowledge in the world that contributes league money into each of the stadium projects.
"In the case of San Diego, NFL owners put not just the $200 (million) that we put into each community, but we put $300 (million) into it as the effort of the league to try and see if we could bridge the gap. I think the NFL owners, I think the Spanos family, and I think the community gave it all a really great effort. But are we disappointed? Of course."
Roger Goodell describes Chargers' move as 'painful'
By Jeremy Bergman NFL.com
One week following the Chargers' rally celebrating their move from San Diego to Los Angeles, the franchise's change in address is still the talk of many in the NFL community, from fans up to executives.
Ahead of his Super Bowl news conference next Wednesday, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell went on The Herd, hosted by Colin Cowherd, on Wednesday to discuss multiple league issues, including the Bolts' move up the coast.
As he has in previous interviews, Goodell expressed disappointment that the Chargers and the city of San Diego were unable to reach a deal for the organization to stay in its home city of 55-plus years.
"We're all disappointed and we all worked very, very hard with local officials, with the Chargers, with the Spanos family, with all of our clubs and we did some unprecedented things to try and keep the Chargers in San Diego, which was our first priority," Goodell said. "That's why all of our relocations, these are painful processes. They're painful for our fans, they're painful for the communities in general, they're painful for the NFL, and so we always work to avoid that and we did that in San Diego.
"We worked very hard to try to avoid it, to make sure that we went not just the extra mile but the extra three or four miles, including the Chargers had the opportunity to move, frankly, a year ago," Goodell continued. "They stayed. (Owner) Dean (Spanos) wanted to try and give it another shot. He went for a referendum. Unfortunately, that did not pass, and then the consequence where everybody in that community recognizes a new stadium has to be built. They have for several years. They recognized there have been many failed attempts at getting that done that all of us bear responsibility for.
"So for us it is disappointing. We would have loved to have the Chargers in San Diego. I think Dean Spanos would be the first to tell you that. But we have to look forward, we have to look long-term and we have to ultimately make sure we're doing what's best for each of our franchises but with a very, very strong consideration to making sure we've done everything possible for our fans."
When pressed by Cowherd about whether the NFL's owners would have put in more of an effort to prevent the relocation of a more "entrenched" franchise, like the Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles or Chicago Bears, Goodell explained that the league has crossed that bridge before.
"I don't think you're being cynical, but I think if you go back and look at the facts over the period of time, we've been very successful in getting stadiums built in those communities," Goodell offered. "Each of the franchises you mentioned have had stadium challenges, but they were able to work through them. They were able to get them done with the local community leadership and the team and we are the only league in sports to my knowledge in the world that contributes league money into each of the stadium projects.
"In the case of San Diego, NFL owners put not just the $200 (million) that we put into each community, but we put $300 (million) into it as the effort of the league to try and see if we could bridge the gap. I think the NFL owners, I think the Spanos family, and I think the community gave it all a really great effort. But are we disappointed? Of course."
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