Carson City Council approves potential NFL Chargers, Raiders stadium

CARSON, Calif. (KABC) -- The Carson City Council thrilled supporters of a proposed NFL football stadium with a unanimous vote in favor of the project Tuesday night.

"I'm just happy, I"m excited! We got it done today and I'm looking forward to the season start," said Jamal Smith, an Oakland Raiders fan.

The 3-0 vote clears the way for the San Diego Chargers and the Oakland Raiders to move forward with a proposal to build a $1.7 billion stadium for the teams to share, if they're unable to build new facilities in their current hometowns.

It marks a significant step forward for plans to lure the NFL back to the Los Angeles area after two-decades without a team in the nation's second-largest media market. The next moves now belong to the teams, and to the league.

The 70,000-seat stadium could create thousands of jobs and generate millions of dollars in revenue for the city of Carson.

Council members heard from enthusiastic football fans and a representative of the Chargers.

Backers of the stadium wheeled in boxes containing more than 15,000 signed petitions from registered voters in support of putting the proposal to a vote. City officials decided there was no need to put the issue on the ballot.

"Anyone who knows anything about Carson politics knows that our residents are very vocal. When they don't like something, they express their disapproval, and, you heard today, not one resident came forward to express their disapproval of the project," said Carson Mayor Albert Robles.

But after the meeting, some residents expressed concerns.

"We have busted roads. We're gonna have more traffic. They didn't do anything for Carson," said Joe Zimmerman, a Carson resident.

"I'm kinda neutral. I don't know if it's gonna be a good thing or a bad thing. It's kind of exciting though to get a team here," said Jill Grimm, also a Carson resident.

The Carson project is one of two stadium proposals to surface in the Los Angeles area this year: St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke is part of a group planning to build an 80,000-seat stadium in Inglewood, roughly 10 miles from downtown Los Angeles. Last month, the Anschutz Entertainment Group spiked plans for a field in downtown Los Angeles, although Mayor Eric Garcetti has suggested that it could be revived.

Mark Fabiani, an attorney for the San Diego Chargers, released this statement following the Carson vote:

"We are grateful for the careful consideration and positive vote of the Carson City Council and Mayor, and we look forward to continuing our work with the community," the statement read.

Under current rules, the next opportunity for a team to file to relocate would be in January 2016. Any decision to move would have to clear a tangle of league hurdles, including winning the support of at least 24 of the 32 teams.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.