If even a sliver of doubt that the San Diego Chargers would not apply for relocation to Los Angeles lived, it has been dashed.
Mark Fabiani, point man for the Chargers' LA efforts, told The Mighty 1090 AM in San Diego that the team will indeed file the paperwork to request relocation, the next step in a potential move. Part of Fabiani's reasoning was that the St. Louis Rams and Oakland Raiders both also appear intent on moving to Los Angeles and the Chargers want to keep their stake in Southern California safe.
"At this point yes, because there's no sign that the other team or teams are not going to file," Fabiani said, via Pro Football Talk. "Everyone assumes all three teams will file, and in that case we can't afford to lose our market in Los Angeles and Orange County. As you know, 25 percent of our season-ticket business comes from those markets. So we have to be able to protect those markets. That's why as a last resort we went out and created the certain option we now have in Los Angeles. And if everything is moving ahead, we're not going to be standing on the sidelines and watching everything go by. We've got to stay in the game to protect the future of the franchise."
Fabiani noted that there remains a chance the Chargers stay in San Diego, which would take a big push by the public.
"I think going forward if there's a solution here in San Diego, it's going to have to come from the citizens' initiative process," Fabiani said. "It's pretty clear at this point the city's leadership doesn't really listen to anything the Chargers have to say."
The NFL announced last week it would host public hearings in all three cities as part of the relocation process. The hearing in San Diego will take place on Oct. 28.
