The NFL May Have Figured Out A Way To Return To LA
In the 19 years since the Raiders and Rams departed Los Angeles, there have been seemingly thousands of stories involving the NFL's triumphant return to the nation's second largest market. After nearly two decades of rumors, dead-end proposals and leveraging from other franchises in search of new stadiums of their own, it appears as if LA may finally be inching closer to once again housing an NFL team or two.
The Los Angeles Times' Sam Farmer (the LA guru on the NFL's potential move back to SoCal) recently wrote an in-depth piece, discussing the NFL's interest in potentially financing the stadium themselves, as opposed to waiting for a relocating team to fund a facility on its own. Farmer notes that the league could recoup the multibillion dollar costs via the selling of naming rights to the stadium, and its many subsections, as well as personal seat licenses for team season ticket holders and even PSL's for Super Bowls that may be a part of an every four-year rotation at the new facility.
In turn, the team or teams that call the stadium home would be in line to reap the revenues generated from areas such as suite/club sales, general admission ticket sales and stadium signage, while not having to deal with the financial burdens that would come with both building a facility and spending years paying down the debt that would follow. Also, any team relocating to LA would be in position to reap the benefits of the immense radio broadcasting rights that playing in Southern California entails.
In addition to allowing a team or teams the ability to play home games in LA, the NFL may also use “its” new stadium to host the Pro Bowl, NFL Scouting Combine, a Western US Hall of Fame, the already in LA NFL Network and NFL.com, and perhaps even the NFL Draft.
With the specter of the above mentioned Raiders and Rams, as well as the Chargers working with year-to-year leases at their respective outdated venues, combined with the very public recent cheerleading by prominent owners Robert Kraft and Jerry Jones, a level of NFL to LA momentum has received a real shot in the arm.
Whether it be the long rumored Farmers Field site, located on the LA Convention Center grounds, across from Staples Center and LA Live (downtown LA). Or, on the plot of Inglewood land recently purchased by Rams owner Stan Kroenke (across from the Forum and next to the now closed Hollywood Park racetrack), the idea of returning pro football to LA may no longer be an exercise in futility.
Stay tuned, this Hollywood script is far from reaching its dramatic conclusion. While observers have no clue how it will end, this long running plot has suddenly gotten a whole lot more interesting to take in.
