The Chargers haven’t called Los Angeles home since their first season in 1960, but it appears a lot of Angelenos would welcome them back.
A poll of the 5-county Los Angeles metro area found as much enthusiasm for the Chargers as for the St. Louis Rams, who played in the Los Angeles area for 48 seasons. The Raiders, who played a dozen years in Los Angeles, came in third.
Chargers, Rams nearly tied in poll of LA residents
The poll, by SurveyUSA, reported that 32 percent of respondents would prefer the Rams and 31 percent want the Chargers, within its 3.5 percent margin of error. The results go against a common perception in San Diego that the Chargers are not popular up north.
An informal web poll taken by the Los Angeles Times after new stadium proposals by the Rams, Raiders and Chargers were unveiled showed 4 percent of readers wanted the Bolts back. And pep rallies hosted by the Chargers and Raiders for their t stadium project in Carson have overwhelmingly been attended by Raider fans. The poll, however, showed 26 percent of the fans wanted the Raiders the most.
Vincent Bonsignore, a sports columnist for the L.A. Daily News, said he was not surprised by Friday’s results and has no doubt the Chargers have ers in the region.
“When the Rams and Raiders left, the Chargers were the closest team so some fans I’m sure went in that direction,” Bonsignore said. “L.A. is so big that you’re going to have fans that don’t like the Rams and don’t like the Raiders and do like the Chargers.”
The Chargers, Rams and Raiders are all pursuing a move to Los Angeles. As the Chargers and Raiders advance on their t-use stadium in Carson, the Rams continue moving forward on their own venue in Inglewood. The competing projects have made for a game of poker at the NFL, which requires 24 of 32 team owners to approve relocation. The poll, sponsored by the San Diego Union-Tribune/10News and ABC-TV Los Angeles, showed that 23 percent of the fans would prefer to go to a game in Carson, versus 17 percent who would prefer Inglewood. Meanwhile, 28 percent said they’d go to either city, 27 percent said neither, and 5 percent were unsure.
The league is holding special owners meetings in Chicago next week to discuss relocations as well as hear from the cities of San Diego and St. Louis on their efforts to keep the teams.
The Chargers contend that 25 percent of their revenue comes from the Los Angeles and Orange County markets, and say they have to move to Los Angeles to protect their brand. The team hasn’t released financial figures behind its Los Angeles fan base.
Chargers spokesman Mark Fabiani declined to comment on the findings. Matt Awbrey, spokesman mayor Kevin Faulconer, also declined to comment.
Jay Leve, president of SurveyUSA, said the 800 respondents were divvied up proportionally between the counties that make up the L.A. market, including 55 percent from Los Angeles County, 17 percent from Orange County, and 13 percent in Riverside.
“Experts are often wrong,” Leve said, when asked about the perception that the Chargers have minimal fans in Los Angeles.
The poll has some additional bright spots for the Chargers, who would privately finance the Carson stadium with some money from personal seat licenses, a fee someone pays for the right to buy a season ticket. In the poll, 16 percent said they would fork over $5,000 for a PSL, 3 percent said $7,000, 3 percent said $10,000, 2 percent said $12,000, and 2 percent said $15,000. Then again, with about 18.4 million people in the Los Angeles market, 2 percent represents roughly 370,000 people, more than enough potential customers to buy a PSL worth $15,000. The team does not believe it can sell a significant number of PSLs for a new stadium in San Diego and currently does not require them to buy a season seat at Qualcomm Stadium.
“If you ask people in San Diego, are you interested in the Chargers, I would hope that it would be 70 to 80 percent, but if you say would you buy tickets? Would you pay money to buy tickets? Then you have a different mindset,” said Jim Lackritz, a statistician and founder of the San Diego State University sports MBA program.
In the poll, 69 percent of the respondents identified themselves as football fans. When the 800 respondents were asked how interested they would be in the Chargers moving to Los Angeles, 31 percent said very interested, 32 percent said somewhat, 16 percent not very, 18 percent not at all, and 3 percent not sure.
Asked the same question on the Rams, 27 percent of the respondents said they would be very interested, 35 percent said somewhat, 16 percent not very, 18 percent not at all, and 3 percent not sure.
The Raiders had the worst response, with 23 percent of the respondents saying they’d be very interested in the Oakland team moving, 24 percent somewhat, and 33 percent not at all. Additionally, 18 percent said they wouldn’t be very interested in the Raiders and 2 percent said they weren’t sure.
When it came to buying season tickets, 30 percent said $500 was the most they’d spend, 15 percent said they’d spend $750, and 12 percent said they’d spend $1,000. A main level season ticket to the Chargers at Qualcomm Stadium costs $1,200 a year with no PSL, something only 8 percent said they would be willing to pay. In the poll, 28 percent of the respondents said they wouldn’t buy tickets and 7 percent said they weren’t sure.
