Brent Schrotenboer

USA TODAY Sports

HOUSTON – A powerful NFL committee has made its recommendation in the three-way race for Los Angeles.

The NFL’s committee on Los Angeles opportunities told NFL owners here Tuesday that it favors the stadium project in Carson, Calif., a joint venture proposed by the San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders. The other choice on the table was the project in Inglewood backed by St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke, though owners also decided Tuesday that the Rams will not be moving there alone if that project survives at all.

The committee's recommendation isn’t binding, but its influence was expected to carry some weight at this week’s special NFL owners meeting. To relocate from their current cities, teams need approval from 24 of the league’s 32 owners, according to NFL guidelines.

Which NFL team has strongest case for L.A. move?

The committee was formed last year and includes six influential team owners: New England’s Bob Kraft, Carolina’s Jerry Richardson, Pittsburgh’s Art Rooney, Houston’s Bob McNair, Kansas City’s Clark Hunt and John Mara of the New York Giants. Five of the six favored Carson, with Hunt said to have not taken a position for or against it.

“Typically deferral deference in the NFL is granted to the committees,” sports consultant Marc Ganis told USA TODAY Sports last week.

Ganis speaks with many decision makers in the process and helped the Raiders and Rams leave Los Angeles for Oakland in St. Louis in 1995.

“This is the most powerful committee I have ever seen put together in the NFL,” Ganis said.

All three teams are seeking to move to the L.A. market this year and are unhappy with substandard stadiums in their current markets. But there’s only two spots available in L.A. The NFL doesn’t want three teams in L.A. and isn’t going to help finance two new stadiums in the same metro area.

Chargers say they have 'zero interest' in Rams' L.A. stadium plan

Instead, it will support one new stadium capable of being shared by two teams.

That means tough choices need to be made if the NFL hopes to finally return a team to L.A. this year for the first time in 21 years.

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones had pushed the idea of the Chargers joining the Rams in Inglewood, but the Chargers told USA TODAY Sports Monday that they have “zero interest” in joining the Rams in that project. Jones' resolution was submitted to the league for a vote at the meeting, though the Chargers would not be bound by it even if the vote passes. The Chargers had no deal in place with the Rams and could block such a proposal with at least nine votes against it.

The possibility of the Rams moving to Inglewood by themselves was nixed at Tuesday's meeting, leaving a choice between the Jones' proposal and the Chargers and Raiders in Carson.

The Chargers said they are committed to the project in Carson, where they have spent significant resources and have a legal agreement with the Raiders. Walt Disney Co. chief executive Bob Iger has been tapped to shepherd the Carson project and made a presentation on its behalf to NFL owners Tuesday.

Iger told reporters Tuesday that the NFL's return to L.A. should be "big and bold."

"Two is better than one," he said, noting that L.A. would have home games virtually every week during the season. ""You’d give people in Los Angeles some choice in terms of rooting interest. There hasn’t been a team there.in a long time, I think that’s great, and I think it makes sense economically as well."

Kroenke also made a presentation on behalf of the Inglewood project, a plan that is bigger than Carson and part of a larger entertainment, retail and office development covering nearly 300 acres near the L.A. airport. The 168-acre Carson project is expected to cost $1.7 billion, compared to around $2 billion for Inglewood. Both are to be privately financed.

The NFL meeting here is scheduled to run through Wednesday, if necessary. Asked if he expected a final decision by tomorrow, Iger said, "Honestly, I don’t know. I hope something gets done, because I think the time to act is now."

Follow sports reporter Brent Schrotenboer on Twitter @Schrotenboer. E-mail: bschrotenb@usatoday.com. Contributing: Tom Pelissero.