LOS ANGELES (AP)
A proposed stadium near Los Angeles that could become home for the NFL’s San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders hit an early milestone Wednesday.
Organizers said sufficient petition signatures have been verified by election officials to qualify the proposal for the ballot in Carson, where the project would be built on a former landfill.
The Raiders and Chargers are planning a shared stadium in the city on the edge of Los Angeles if both teams fail to get new stadiums in their current hometowns.
It’s one of two prominent stadium proposals that have emerged in the Los Angeles area this year: St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke is part of a development group planning to build an 80,000-seat stadium in Inglewood, roughly 10 miles from downtown Los Angeles.
Carson officials were notified Wednesday that over 8,000 signatures were verified. The proposal will go to the City Council, which could schedule an election or consider the plan without sending it to local voters.
The dueling stadium plans have raised the hopes of fans that Los Angeles could end its two-decade stretch without an NFL team.
The Kroenke plan envisions a stadium rising on the site of a former horse track, as part of a sprawling development of homes, parks and office space.
Under current rules, the next opportunity for a team to file to relocate would be in January 2016. Any decision to move would have to clear a tangle of league hurdles, including winning the support of at least 24 of the 32 teams. 
