Editor's note: Raiders Insider Scott Bair is in Houston this week to cover the NFL owners LA relocation vote. Stay logged on CSNBayArea.com for comprehensive coverage.
HOUSTON – The NFL owners meetings are happening behind closed doors at the Westin Memorial City hotel, where the league is working to decide which teams to approve for relocation to Los Angeles.
The Raiders and San Diego Chargers are pushing a stadium proposal in Carson, and the St. Louis Rams have a competing project in Inglewood.
Rams owner Stan Kroenke kicked off the morning meeting presenting the Inglewood project. Disney CEO and Carson project chairman Bob Iger fronted the Raiders-Chargers presentation, with assistance from Raiders owner Mark Davis and Chargers owner Dean Spanos.
As of 1:30pm PT on Tuesday, owners were still discussing L.A. possibilities, with the real prospect of a vote on Tuesday.
All was quiet, until Iger chose to get some Starbucks near the media workroom. He was crushed by cameras and reporters trying to siphon information about goings-on as NFL owners decide what to do about L.A.
“Man,” Iger said. “You guys are desperate.”
Three NFL cities are desperately hoping their team will return home. That includes Oakland and the East Bay, which needs more time to keep the Raiders.
Iger obviously has a pro-Carson agenda, but he was optimistic about his presentation earlier in the day.
“I thought our presentation went really well,” Iger said. “We’re passionate. We’re passionate about Carson and Los Angeles and that the best approach is for the Raiders and Chargers to be (in L.A.).”
Iger believes the L.A. discussion is near its end, with teams that want to move and a league that wants a presence in the market.
“You’ve had presentations made by teams operating in sub-optimal conditions,” Iger said. “They want to move, and once that position is taken and affirmed by the league, going back gets harder. At some point, there is a ‘go, no-go’ date. I hope something gets done, because the time to act is now.”
Iger also believes that putting two teams in L.A. right away is the way to go.
“If you’re going to bring the NFL back to Los Angeles, you have to be big and bold,” Iger said. “Two is better than one. You’ll have home games virtually every week, and it makes sense economically as well.”
