Dateline Carson — More than 150 students and staff of Carson High School cheered today as former L.A. Raiders defensive standout Mike Haynes outlined numerous benefits of a plan to bring two NFL franchises — the Raiders and Chargers — to a new state-of-the-art stadium in Carson.
An NFL Hall of Fame inductee and the 1976 NFL Rookie of the Year, Mr. Haynes told the enthusiastic crowd at Carson High’s football field that an NFL stadium would bring “jobs and economic opportunities” to the city and to the region.
NFL players also donate their time and energy to the communities that host their teams, he said. “The players get involved in supporting the schools, the local parks and they help counsel young people how to make better life decisions,” said Mr. Haynes, who began his pro football career as the No. 1 draft choice of the New England Patriots. From 1983 to 1989, Mr. Haynes played for the then-L.A. Raiders and was a starter in the Raiders’ Super Bowl XVIII victory.
At the pep rally, Chargers spokesman Mark Fabiani thanked the Carson community for its strong support of the proposed Chargers-Raiders move to the city.
“We wouldn’t be here today” with a highly viable plan to bring the two teams to Carson “without you, your friends and parents,” said Mr. Fabiani, referring to the citizen petition drive that gathered 15,000 signatures of Carson residents in just eight days. That petition helped expedite Carson City Council approval of a Chargers-Raiders partnership to bring football to Carson.
The move of the two teams to Carson is not a done deal. It still needs the approval of a majority of the league’s 32 owners.
“This rally is important for convincing the NFL owners that Carson is the place” where NFL football should plant its flag in Southern California, said Mr. Fabiani. The Los Angeles area has not had a pro football team in more than 20 years.
Carson Mayor Al Robles thanked Mr. Fabiani for partnering with Carson. “We love Mark in Carson” for helping spearhead the plan to bring the two teams to Carson, Mr. Robles said. “We will love him even more if he brings the NFL to Carson.”
Of Mr. Haynes, Mr. Robles told the crowd: “He’s our secret weapon” in persuading the NFL owners that there is a tremendous fan base for NFL football in the greater Los Angeles metropolitan region and in nearby Orange County.
“The doubters said we couldn’t get two teams to play in the same stadium,” said the mayor. “They said ‘no way can you do that.’ We have proved them wrong. We showed we can work together, be in one house.”
Mr. Haynes later summed up the spirit of hope he saw in Carson. He said he had no insider information about how the league owners would vote on the Carson project. However, “my heart tells me we’re going to get a stadium in Carson.”
The event ended with the distribution to the crowd of free, one-of-a-kind football jerseys designed as a composite of the jerseys worn by the Chargers and Raiders.
Mr. Schwada may be contacted at john.schwada@gmail.com
