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Around SBN: The Pros and Cons of an 18-game NFL Schedule

Football in LA? It's coming soon

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(Arnold signing in the stadium bill. Photo by AP Photos)

There are many theories out there why the city of Los Angeles hasn't had an NFL team in the last decade-and-a-half. It seems almost incomprehensible that a league so focused on revenue could somehow ignore the No. 2 market in the country while having a team in Jacksonville and Green Bay. Many people think that Los Angeles residents either don't care that much about football or have so much else going on that they don't really clamor for a team. And to that point, that city hasn't been nearly as devastated over losing their football team as, say, Houston, Cleveland and Baltimore were.

Besides the subjective reasoning, there are major logistical problems with putting a team in Los Angeles -- or at least there were until yesterday. For one, L.A. Coliseum is so gigantic that adhering to the league's blackout policy would be troublesome. And even if a franchise could sell out every single seat for eight games a year, no owner wants to play at L.A. Coliseum. Owners make their real money from skyboxes and suites that executives pay thousands of dollars to get into; L.A. Coliseum has no box suites, and since the stadium also has a historical landmark status, altering it or tearing down is impossible.

So where do you put a stadium? It is L.A. -- there aren't a ton of football-stadium sized construction zones out there. That was the major problem facing the city, although that issue appeared to be cleared up yesterday when the Governator signed a bill allowing the construction of a 75,000-seat stadium 15 miles east of Los Angeles.

Majestic Realty Co. is heading the stadium project after helping develop Staples Center, the downtown Los Angeles home of the NBA's Lakers and Clippers and the NHL's Kings.

Majestic has targeted seven teams as candidates to move to the Los Angeles area: the Buffalo Bills, Jacksonville Jaguars, Minnesota Vikings, St. Louis Rams, San Diego Chargers, Oakland Raiders and San Francisco 49ers.

A keen observer will note that three of the seven teams (the Raiders, Chargers and Rams) have already played in L.A. How crazy would Al Davis have to be to move the Raiders to Los Angeles twice in his ownership? Who knows if any of those seven are interested in moving, but the odds that there'll eventually be a team in L.A. are strong. After all, Majestic isn't building an $800 million stadium just to have high school teams play soccer there, and the league has already given them three teams already. No. 4 is on the way. It's just a matter of who and when.

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Will they really build this new stadium?

I remember when they shut down a freeway overpass project in Davis, because they found a toad. If they find anything enviromentally wrong, they could shut down this project.

FIRE BRUCE BOCHY NOW!!!!!!
AND TAKE BRIAN SABEAN WITH HIM!!!!!

by 49er16 on Oct 23, 2009 1:47 PM EDT reply actions  

yes they will

I believe Staples Center was at least as big of a challenge, probably bigger, from a starting point. and it’s the same ownership group that built that, plus the Home Depot Center where the LA Galaxy play.

"This is a guy who is a combination of great courage and, nuts!"- Steve Physioc

by Brian S (brianguy) on Oct 23, 2009 8:43 PM EDT up reply actions  

I think so, but not the Raiders!!

there are places to build a new stadium, though most are a bit out of the way since the best locations are taken, unless you tear some other stadium down (which is not going to happen). the problem has been the cost but now there seems to be a group really with a solid plan to build a new stadium, and the ownership group behind it.

I expect there to be a team in L.A. within 3 or 4 years .. but definitely not the Raiders. been there, done that ,and nobody except the inner city thugs ever went to their games or had any interest at all.

in the past it seemed like there would be a new candidate to move to L.A. every year or two then it would just fizzle out as they all did this political song and dance. the NFL sort of blew their opportunity to get back to L.A. sooner rather than later with Houston, but at the time they had the better plan and ownership group in place so it makes sense. and they were a former AFL NFL city too.

now the league already has their 32 teams so it would definitely have to be an existing team relocating. that’s the other “problem”, but will actually help the league rather than just adding more new teams as they’ve done in the past.

prediction (just for fun) – it will be one of the Buffalo Bills, Jacksonville Jaguars, or Chargers. though I view Buffalo as sort of the dark horse of those three. the good thing for the Chargers is they already have a bit of an identity throughout So Cal, and if they move to “inland” L.A. that’s closer to Orange County, to attract even more people. and it’s also a bit closer to San Diego than somewhere like the Coliseum would be, so an existing S.D. fanbase could still commute to 8 games if so interested.

"This is a guy who is a combination of great courage and, nuts!"- Steve Physioc

by Brian S (brianguy) on Oct 23, 2009 1:55 PM EDT reply actions  

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