NFL owners approved a move by the St. Louis Rams to the Los Angeles area, on Tuesday, and the San Diego Chargers were given an option to join the Rams in Inglewood, California.
The decision was approved by a 30-2 vote of the league owners in Houston, multiple media outlets reported. The Chargers were given until Jan. 16, 2017, to settle lease terms with the Rams.
According to NFL.com, the Raiders, who also were bidding to move to Los Angeles, stepped aside and will remain in Oakland.
Hall of Fame running back Eric Dickerson, who played for the then-Los Angeles Rams from 1983-87, tweeted, “Welcome Home! #LARams2016″
The Inglewood stadium, due to be built for a price of $3 billion on the site of the former Hollywood Park horse racing track, would be the NFL’s largest stadium, the Los Angeles Times reported.
After the previous round of voting, the Inglewood project was leading 20-12 over a proposal to put two teams in a stadium in Carson, Calif., according to the Times.
Earlier Tuesday, the six-member Committee on Los Angeles Opportunities recommended a Chargers-Raiders joint relocation to the $1.7 billion stadium in Carson, according to multiple reports. However, that recommendation did not appear to sway the owners.
The $1.86 billion Inglewood stadium project is backed by Rams owner Stan Kroenke. The Los Angeles Daily News reported that a Rams-only move to the stadium as sole tenant was rejected by the owners.
The Rams made the Inglewood presentation first to the owners on Tuesday followed by Carson group that included the Chargers and Raiders.
“There’s momentum and commitment,” said Disney CEO Bob Iger, who is part of the Carson proposal and was involved in the presentation. “But it’s also complicated.”
Iger said during a break in meetings that bringing the NFL to Los Angeles should be a big and bold move.
“Two is better than one (team),” he said.
Kroenke, a land developer with the second highest net worth among the NFL’s 32 owners, is considered an astute businessman who could bring a winning product to California.
Committee on Los Angeles Opportunities members include owners Jerry Richardson of the Carolina Panthers, Art Rooney of the Pittsburgh Steelers, John Mara of the New York giants, Clark Hunt of the Kansas City Chiefs, Robert Kraft of the New England Patriots and Bob McNair of the Houston Texans.
Iger said the time to act was now, and that the teams had all come to a point where patience will not be tolerated by fans in existing home markets.
“At some point, there’s a go/no-go date,” he said. “Because these teams need to figure out where they’re playing next season.”