Back in December a high-ranking NFL official told the Los Angeles News Group the Oakland Raiders and San Diego Chargers will move in 2016 to Los Angeles where they will eventually share a new stadium.

The details were sketchy, and the news was soon trumped by St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke announcing he was joining forces with the developers of the old Hollywood Park race track to build a football stadium in Inglewood.

The source reiterated to LANG soon after Kroenke’s announcement, that he stood by his information and the Raiders and Chargers will be heading to Los Angeles after the 2015 season.

Two months later, it seems things might be moving in that direction.

Or maybe the Raiders and Chargers are just trying to motivate Oakland and San Diego into helping them build new stadiums.

In any event, according to a story in the Los Angeles Times on Thursday the Chargers and Raiders are developing a plan to build a $1.7 billion dollar stadium in Carson at the southwest quadrant of the intersection of the 405 Freeway and Del Amo Boulevard.

A high-ranking NFL official on Thursday told LANG that Carson is a “credible” option and that it’s “not a crazy idea.”

The two clubs are working with local Carson business and local leaders on the proposed stadium, which will be privately financed. The Chargers and Raiders are each working on one-year leases and are free to move to Los Angeles at the end of next season.

An official announcement is expected on Friday.

At this point, the Carson proposal remains the back-up plan to getting new stadiums back home. Both teams are mired in long-term stadium fights in their current markets, and with the Kroenke’s bold move to build a new home in Inglewood neither an afford to lose Los Angeles as a negotiating chip or potential landing spot should they fail to get new stadiums.

In a joint statement, the Chargers and Raiders said: “We are pursuing this stadium option in Carson for one straightforward reason: If we cannot find a permanent solution in our home markets, we have no alternative but to preserve other options to guarantee the future economic viability of our franchises.”

Los Angeles has been without the NFL since the Rams and Raiders moved in 1995, but it now seems the league has exactly what it wants: Two potential new Los Angeles area stadiums backed by NFL owners, each jockeying for position, and three cities feeling the pressure to get something done locally to keep their NFL right where they are.

With the St. Louis Rams moving to the forefront relative to relocating to Los Angeles, it’s easy to overlook the fact two other teams are equally embroiled in local stadium fights and just as interested in Los Angeles as a potential landing spot should things not work out.

In fact, the San Diego Chargers are much more invested in their stadium fight than the Rams, having battled more than a decade trying to get new, improved digs in San Diego.

To no avail, of course. And with time of the essence now that Rams owner Stan Kroenke has made the bold move to join forces with a California-based developer to build a new football stadium on the old Hollywood Park race track, the Chargers are putting pressure on local officials to get something done – or else.

Or else being Los Angeles, of course

On Monday, the Chargers came out conspicuously aggressive through a scathing letter set by stadium point man Mark Fabiani to the city of San Diego, essentially mocking the latest San Diego task force in charge of developing a stadium plan.

That promoted San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer to fire off his own letter to Chargers owner Dean Spanos, blasting Fabiani for undermining his efforts to get something worked out.

Faulconer also asked Spanos to meet him  face-to-face to discuss the situation, an invitation Spanos accepted on Wednesday.

So what’s really going on?

Look, the Chargers understand it’s now or never in San Diego. And if it takes getting tough to get people to react, so be it. Up until now, the Chargers have been  more than patient while seeing one plan after another go up in smoke, and one mayoral administration after another come and go.

For the Chargers, it’s put up or shut up time. If Fabiani’s harsh reaction to Faulconer’s task force pushed the appropriate buttons and the appropriate action takes place, well, all’s well that ends well.

Sometimes things get ugly. But sometimes ugly gets things done.

On the other hand, if Faulconer can’t get it done – and soon – the Chargers clearly have Los Angeles in their sights.

That could mean working a deal with AEG’s Farmers Field project, or it could mean the Rams joining forces with Kroenke at the Inglewood stadium.

The NFL has long preferred a two-team Los Angeles market, and the Rams and Chargers would fit perfectly.

If you are a San Diego Chargers fan, it’s good news that Spanos has agreed to meet with Mayor Faulconer.

But time is of the essence, and unless Spanos sees some progress – and fast – Los Angeles could very well be the  Chargers new home.

And soon.

Things continue to heat up on the NFL returning to Los Angeles – and sooner rather than later.

But with three teams potentially vying for two spots in the Los Angeles area, and plenty of money and public relations matters at stake for the NFL, the league is continuing to set a tone and maintain control of the process.

Everyone I’ve talked to within the league stresses the NFL views Los Angeles as a must win, as in they can’t afford to mess this up after losing both the Rams and Raiders in the mid 1990’s and swinging and missing on previous returns to the City of Angels.

With that in mind, they insist they want to get this right. And will stay on top of the process every step of the way to insure that happens. That means controlling who moves here and when.

On Monday, the NFL formalized a committee consisting of four owners who will advise and oversee the league”s eventual return to Los Angeles – and officially titled the Committee on Los Angeles Opportunities. 

This comes about a month after St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke announced a partnership with a California developer to build an 80,000-seat football stadium on the site of the old Hollywood Park Race Track in Inglewood, presumably to be the new home for the Rams.

But with the Oakland Raiders and San Diego Chargers also needing new stadiums in their current cities – and both eyeing Los Angeles as an alternative landing spot – the NFL wants to be in front of the process every step of the way.

It is yet another sign the return to Los Angeles is imminent, but also that the NFL will control the process, not a single team – or two or three.

Here is a statement I got from a high-ranking NFL official confirming the new committee:

During the past year, a group of owners has served in an advisory capacity regarding NFL activities in Los Angeles. That group consists of Clark Hunt, Robert Kraft, John Mara, Bob McNair, Jerry Richardson and Art Rooney.

Commissioner Goodell has now formalized the role and designated these individuals as a Committee on Los Angeles Opportunities. The committee will evaluate the various stadium options available in Los Angeles, oversee the application of the relocation guidelines in the event that one or more clubs seek to move to Los Angeles, ensure proper coordination with other standing committees (including Broadcasting, CEC, Finance and Stadium), and confirm that all steps taken in Los Angeles are consistent with the Constitution and Bylaws and NFL policies.

In particular, as has been discussed on numerous occasions and confirmed in various memoranda, any decision to resume NFL team operations in Los Angeles will require multiple approvals from NFL ownership, which can only be granted by a three-fourths vote of the clubs. These decisions include selection of a stadium site; approval of stadium lease and financing arrangements; and debt ceiling and sharing waivers (if needed); relocation consent and terms; and Super Bowl awards, among other subjects. A key role of this Special Committee will be to preserve the voting rights of the clubs on each of these important issues.

So what exactly does this mean? Not much has changed, even with the new committee. It just shows how close we are to finally getting professional football back, but that the NFL feels the need to remind teams they must act in accordance to the guidelines in place to relocate to Los Angeles.

As I mentioned, the NFL has always maintained Los Angeles a must-win situation. It’s taken them 20 years to figure out a road back to L.A., and they clearly don’t want any short-range or long-range foul ups jeopardizing a successful return.

It’s been assumed that the proposed 80,000-seat football stadium being added to the $2.2 billion redevelopment plan on the site of the old Hollywood Park Race Track in Inglewood needed to be put up to a vote by local residents.

The proposed stadium is being financed by St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke and real estate investment firm Stockbridge Capital Group, and it’s presumed it will be the new home of the Rams.

The Rams recently moved to a one-year lease with the Edward Jones Dome, and while St. Louis leaders are scrambling to approve a new stadium proposal to keep the franchise in Missouri, it’s obvious Kroenke has his eye on Southern California.

While Kroenke’s Inglewood project might still need to be put to vote, Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts believes the 22,216 signatures project developers recently gathered to put the stadium rezoning on the ballet – an initiative petition is one way to add the stadium to an existing development plan – is sufficient support to bypass a mid-year vote and push the plan to the city council.

Mayor Butts told the St. Louis Post Dispatch the 22,216 signatures from registered voters – more than double what is needed to put a measure on the ballet – shows ample support for a city with 55,000 registered voters. The signatures still need to be validated by the Los Angeles County registrar, a process that should conclude within the next two weeks.

Once validation is completed, Butts told the Post-Dispatch Inglewood City attorneys believe it can go directly to the City Council.

If that is the case, the project could get started a whole lot earlier than many assumed.

By now we already know the NFL has nixed any team from moving to Los Angeles for the 2015 season. But nobody said anything about forbidding anyone from simply filing relocation papers – essentially declaring their intentions to eventually move to Los Angeles.

The window for that declaration began on January 1st and closes on February 15, and that  brings up an interesting question about the St. Louis Rams and their owner, Stan Kroenke, who recently partnered with a California based land developer to build an 80,000-seat football stadium on the site of the old Hollywood Park race track in Inglewood.

Could Kroenke simply go rogue and force the NFL’s hand by filing relocation papers on or before next Sunday?

And in the process, taint the waters so permanently in St. Louis it would create such a negative public relations mess for the NFL, the league would simply allow him to move rather than make him play one more year in front of angry, jilted fans?

The short answer is there really isn’t anything stopping Kroenke from doing just that.

But it’s extremely doubtful.

The people I’ve talked to within NFL circles don’t believe it’s likely – or in his best interest – that Kroenke pulls an end around at this point. In fact, with the NFL openly supporting Kroenke’s moves thus far relative to the league’s Los Angeles specific relocation guidelines, and with a  source confirming to me last week Kroenke has begun the process of building bridges with fellow owners to garner the necessary support for an eventual move, the Rams seem on such sufficiently solid ground it makes little sense for Kroenke to jeopardize his plans by going off grid.

The more likely scenario is Kroenke continues to work behind the scenes with his fellow owners, lets the political process play out in Inglewood – while simultaneously monitoring the the stadium efforts back home in St. Louis – and when he’s comfortable he has all his ducks in a row, acts accordingly.

No sense in ruffling NFL feathers – remember, he will need 24 votes from fellow owners to be approved for relocation – or poisoning the waters in St. Louis anymore than it’s already been poisoned.

No matter how badly Kroenke wants to be in Los Angeles – or how soon – and no matter how much sense his Inglewood stadium plan makes, he still has to work with the NFL and within their guidelines.