LOS ANGELES—In a recent interview with The Dan Patrick Show, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti indicated he believed that the city of Los Angeles would have better success embracing one NFL team instead of two.
A self-admitted fan of the Los Angeles Rams (the team originally belonged to St. Louis), Garcetti stated in the interview that “We’re certainly happy to have the Chargers in L.A., but I think we could have been happy with just the [Rams].”
Until 2017, the Chargers called San Diego there home base. A large fan base continues to exist in the city for the team. Mayor Garcetti hinted that he did not believe a following of equivalent size for the team exists in Los Angeles, and acknowledged that it probably would have been best for the Chargers to remain in San Diego
“It would have been nice if they could have stayed put where they are because Oakland and San Diego have huge fan bases, there’s a big tradition,” Garcetti said. “I’m glad the Chargers will build up a fan base…but I believe in players playing for a long time on teams, and teams staying in a city for their lives.”
The Oakland Raiders are slated to relocate to Las Vegas in 2020.
