While each team negotiates a new stadium in respective hometowns of San Diego and Oakland, the NFL's Chargers and Raiders are set to officially announce their joint pursuit of a new, shared NFL stadium in Carson near Los Angeles.

The LA Times reports that such a stadium is proposed for a 168-acre site at a cost of $1.7 billion. There, the teams will launch a petition drive for a ballot initiative in hopes of garnering voter approval for the build.

“We are pursuing this stadium option in Carson for one straightforward reason," the teams said in a combined statement to the Times. "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.”

Meanwhile — and perhaps with added urgency as a result of the announcement — the Chargers and Raiders will continue to seek public subsidies for new stadiums in San Diego and Oakland. The deadline for making deals to stay put could be the end of the year, the teams say. As of now, both the Raiders and the Chargers are on year-to-year leases.

In some ways the move could be seen as a homecoming. The Raiders spent 1982 to 1994 in Los Angeles after unsuccessful attempts to have improvements made to the Oakland Coliseum. As for the Chargers, the squad says that 25 percent of their fan base resides in Los Angeles and Orange counties.

Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, who isn't eager for Oakland to subsidize a stadium, said she "respects" the Raiders' desire to explore the option of a new home, according to an update to the Times story. "They have done it before and they will do it again," said Schaaf.

Currently the New York Jets and the Giants are the sole NFL teams sharing a stadium (it's in New Jersey). If the Raiders and Chargers were to move to LA, they would likely play for at least two seasons in a temporary LA home while their new stadium was constructed.

By the way, our colleagues down at LAist are supremely unconvinced this will come to pass, but hey, we can all dream.

Previously: The Raiders Really Might Move To San Antonio