Hopes of a quick NFL return to L.A. take a hit

You can cross the San Diego Chargers off the list of NFL teams that might be moving to L.A. next year.

The Chargers have announced they’ll be staying put in 2015.

The Chargers, St. Louis Rams and Oakland Raiders are all operating on a year-to-year stadium leases. And that’s led to a lot of speculation that one – or possibly two of those teams – could move to L.A.

The Chargers decision is being read by some as an indication that no team will come here next year. The Chargers – who face long odds of getting a new stadium built in San Diego – are reportedly still be interested in L.A. And it’s believed that owner Dean Spanos might not have agreed to another one-year lease in San Diego if he believed another football club’s move to L.A. was imminent.

But while 2015 may not be in the cards,

momentum continues to build for a return of the NFL to Los Angeles in the near future. As usual, the unresolved stadium issue continues to be the big wildcard.

Many NFL observers believe the favorites to move to L.A. are the St. Louis Rams and the Oakland Raiders, Those franchises, of course, both pulled up stakes in L.A. in 1995. Rams owner Stan Kroenke bought a 60-acre parcel next to Hollywood Park earlier this year, and a lot of the recent stadium talk centers around that property.