Just before President Obama began the State of the Union, news broke that the NFL’s owners voted to allow the St. Louis Rams to relocate to Los Angeles, returning the country’s most popular sport to its second-largest city.
Hollywood lost its two NFL teams in 1995 when the Rams and Raiders moved to St. Louis and Oakland, respectively. Since then, several franchises have toyed with the idea of moving in, though more often than not they issue threats to relocate as leverage to secure public funding for stadium construction or expansion.
St. Louis submitted a plan to fund a new stadium in Inglewood just outside the city, and at a meeting of NFL owners on Tuesday, enough of the gathered executives voted to allow the franchise to move ahead with those plans.
They also granted another franchise, the San Diego Chargers, the option to move to the city this year if they so choose. If they decline, the Raiders will then have an opportunity to relocate. If both teams choose to stay put, the league is offering them each $100 million to fund the construction of new stadiums.