Los Angeles Rams

NFL may sell 2016 L.A. tickets before a team even moves

Published Aug. 6, 2015 2:41 p.m. ET

Mike Garafolo

Attention Rams, Raiders and Chargers fans: You might soon be able to get in line for tickets for your team's home games next year in Los Angeles.

Even before it's decided whether your team will actually move there.

Sources have told FOX Sports that, at next Tuesday's special meeting in Illinois, NFL owners will discuss implementing a program to allow fans to make deposits to get on a waiting list for tickets at a temporary stadium in L.A. before the end of the calendar year.

The goal would be to start building a season-ticket base for the 2016 season now, rather than waiting until it's clear which, and how many, teams will be making the move.

The league called next week's meeting to allow interested teams to present their vision for a move to Los Angeles and fully share what they hope to establish there. In addition, the owners will hear about developments in the teams' current markets in San Diego, Oakland and St. Louis.

No vote on a potential move is expected to be taken during next week's meeting. Any such vote isn't likely until late this year, when the three candidates to relocate will be well into the regular season.

Obviously, any fans of a particular team would be interested in a seat license only if their team eventually moves to Los Angeles. A source said the NFL anticipates that issue and will therefore include a proposal for a rebate on any deposit, contingent on a move.

Last month, the Los Angeles Times broached the possibility of a ticket-waiting list for a temporary stadium and suggested there was a debate about whether a fee should be charged.

Having fans of three teams plunking money down in advance of a relocation will surely build even more momentum for what appears to be an inevitability at this point -- the league's return to the country's second-biggest market since leaving after 1994.

New York Giants president and CEO John Mara was the latest team executive to say he expects NFL games in Los Angeles next year. In fact, Mara said he expects two teams to move there before the 2016 season.