Texans Owner Bob McNair Doesn't Believe Rams Will Get Approval to Move to LA

Houston Texans owner Bob McNair spoke about the NFL's bid to bring a team to Los Angeles on Monday, seeming pessimistic about the St. Louis Rams' chances of accomplishing the task.  

Brian T. Smith of the Houston Chronicle reported on McNair's comments Wednesday, which suggest the Oakland Raiders and the San Diego Chargers have a better chance of relocating within the state:

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We have three teams that are interested in moving to Los Angeles. Only two are going to be approved if any are approved. One of the teams would not be able to move if we approve two. So they'd have to stay in their home market. And one of our concerns is what level of support are they receiving in their home market? And if they're receiving a reasonable amount of support, my personal feeling and most owners' is we don’t think people should move.

St. Louis, they have come up with a proposal that is getting pretty close, in my opinion, to being an attractive proposal. And if they do come up with an attractive proposal [...] I don't think the Rams will receive the approval to relocate. So that would mean then you'd have two teams, San Diego and Oakland, that would be going into Carson. They have a partnership to build a stadium.

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The partnership between the Raiders and Chargers McNair alludes to is a proposed $1.7 billion new stadium in Carson, California, the two teams would share as a means of having the NFL in Los Angeles County.

Both franchises are seeking alternatives within their current cities, but they have an end-of-year deadline to move forward with the Carson plan.

McNair didn't rule out the possibility of the NFL staying pat in breaking down the pros and cons of an LA move, per Smith:

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[Los Angeles is] the second-largest market in the country and certainly we should be there. On the other hand, we've done very well not being there. So it's not the end of the world. And in terms of TV viewership and what have you, it's as high out there as it is in other places, even though they don't have a team. And some people say, 'We don't want a team because now we can watch anything we want to see.' Where as if you put a team out there, there will be certain restrictions.

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However, McNair referred to how in San Diego "half the council went to jail or something," and the political problems the city has been through have thwarted a Chargers move to LA for approximately 15 years. He added Oakland doesn't have "any money" to make the Raiders move.

The Rams have their own tall task to market themselves as a movable commodity with the Raiders and the Chargers also in the running, especially since the latter two clubs are joining together through the stadium deal.

Due to the issues McNair mentions the two California teams have had over the years, their idea to band together seems best for the prospective move.

Houston will serve as the site of an NFL meeting from January 12-13, where votes will be cast to determine the fate of the three teams applying for relocation.