NEW YORK -- NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell expects NFL owners will vote on franchise relocation to Los Angeles.
When is another matter.
Goodell said Wednesday at the NFL owners fall meeting that the owners expressed interest "in wanting to be there, but also recognize we need to find solutions. Our relocation policy is very important."
The St. Louis Rams, Oakland Raiders and San Diego Chargers all have designs on moving to LA, which has not had an NFL franchise since 1995, when the Rams and Raiders left. The current timetable calls for submission of applications to relocate in January, when the owners could vote.
There has been speculation that timetable could be moved up to December, when the next owners meeting occurs in Dallas. But Pittsburgh Steelers President Art Rooney said he doesn't envision that.
"I don't think we'll move up the deadline," Rooney said. "We have cities that still are putting together their proposals" to keep their teams.
The owners of the Rams, Raiders and Chargers were excused from a round-table session during Wednesday's fall meetings, and the other 29 owners voiced their opinions on approving any moves to LA.
Goodell said it's "very positive" to have two alternatives in what he also called "the entertainment capital of the world."
Neither California team has had success in getting public funding for a new stadium; Goodell noted that has been happening "for decades." Missouri has come through with a plan for a $1 billion stadium to keep the Rams, but there are delays in that proposal.
Team owners Stan Kroenke and Dean Spanos discussed potential Southern California stadium locations -- including the site of the Hollywood Park racetrack in Inglewood -- over dinner in 2013, according to a person with direct knowledge of the meeting.
The report of the exchange, which the source described as "very amicable," sheds new light on the long-running competition to return the NFL to Los Angeles. Kroenke, who owns the St. Louis Rams, and Spanos, owner of the San Diego Chargers, back competing proposals that offer starkly different visions.
Kroenke's proposal includes a domed stadium and an artificial playing surface in Inglewood. Spanos, who has teamed with the Oakland Raiders, has put forward an open-air, natural-grass facility adjacent to the 405 Freeway in Carson.
The idea of Kroenke and Spanos teaming up in Inglewood has been suggested as a solution to the conundrum, but nothing has come of previous discussions involving the site.
Problems solved
The cross-ownership complications of Stan Kroenke are over.
NFL owners Wednesday approved Kroenke's plan, which allows him to retain ownership of the Rams, and transfers ownership of the Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche to his wife, Ann Walton Kroenk, a Wal-Mart heiress who, according to Forbes, is worth an estimated $4.6 billion.
The Nuggets and the Avalanche will be run by the Kroenkes' son, Josh.
Under league rules, an owner cannot own an NFL team in one city and another pro sports franchise in another NFL city (or potential NFL city, such as Los Angeles). The reason is the league doesn't want NFL owners competing with each other for sports/entertainment dollars in the same city.
Kroenke's cross-ownership situation had been viewed as an irritant among some owners. With that behind him, it removes one of the hurdles in his path to a potential relocation to L.A.
Around the world
The NFL plans to play more games overseas, and not just in London.
The 32 team owners voted Wednesday to allow executives in the league office to extend the International Series, which includes regular-season games outside the United States, through 2025, and for the league to look at scheduling games in countries beyond England.
The NFL has been playing regular-season games in London since 2007 and expanded the slate of games to three a year starting in 2014. This year, the league also announced a deal to start playing games in a new stadium being built by Tottenham Hotspur. Games until now have been in Wembley Stadium.
England will remain a focus for the NFL. Mexico, where one regular-season game was played in 2005 and drew a record attendance of 103,467, is a front-runner for next year.
"That's our biggest fan base, our most vibrant market," said Mark Waller, the league's vice president/international. "It would be a logical place to start."
The league is also considering playing a game in Germany, where the NFL operated a league, but Waller said the league wanted to expand to Mexico first.
The league could also return to Canada, where the Buffalo Bills played several exhibition and regular-season games in recent years.
League officials have visited Brazil to look at facilities there, but Waller said he was less optimistic about playing the Pro Bowl there in 2017 than he was six months ago because of the economic slowdown in the country.
Highlights
Commissioner Roger Goodell reiterated Wednesday that the league will continue to vigorously pursue in court reinstating Patriots quarterback Tom Brady's four-game suspension for using underinflated footballs in the AFC Championship game. Brady had the suspension set aside in federal court last month. ... In the wake of the officiating mistake at the end of Detroit's loss to Seattle on Monday night, Goodell said rules for use of instant replay in officiating "clearly will be discussed again" by the powerful competition committee. ... SiriusXM satellite radio extended its deal to carry NFL broadcasts for six more years. SiriusXM has partnered with the NFL since 2004.
Sports on 10/08/2015