LA to build new stadium

[jjakq27]

The Bills, Rams, Jags, Vikings, Chargers, Raiders and 49ers are on the list of potential candidates to move into this new venue. Prior to the Katrina disaster, New Orleans was rumored to be a team that might move to LA. However the government and the NFL pumped money into fixing the Superdome after the hurricane. With the team's current success I doubt that they are going anywhere soon.

I can't imagine the league adding a 33rd team that would screw up the schedule and balance in the league. Moving an existing east coast team to the west would surely require some restructuring of the current divisional alignment though.

/>http://www.nfl.com/news/story?id=09000d5d8139c3e9&template=with-video-with-comments&confirm=true

/>http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-nfl-farmer23-2009oct23,0,2970914.column

[Ickey44]

The Bills, Rams, Jags, Vikings, Chargers, Raiders and 49ers are on the list of potential candidates to move into this new venue. Prior to the Katrina disaster, New Orleans was rumored to be a team that might move to LA. However the government and the NFL pumped money into fixing the Superdome after the hurricane. With the team's current success I doubt that they are going anywhere soon.

I can't imagine the league adding a 33rd team that would screw up the schedule and balance in the league. Moving an existing east coast team to the west would surely require some restructuring of the current divisional alignment though.

/>http://www.nfl.com/news/story?id=09000d5d8139c3e9&template=with-video-with-comments&confirm=true

/>http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-nfl-farmer23-2009oct23,0,2970914.column

It will most likely be the Jags. When's the last time they even sold out a game anyhow?

On a side note, what does everyone think about them trying to put a team in London?

[jjakq27]

On the ESPN 30 for 30 show about the Baltimore Colts, the low point might have been in 1993 when the NFL announced that the two new expansion teams would be placed in North Carolina and Jacksonville. I recall that at the time the commissioner said that Jacksonville was selected because of the anticipated growth in the southeastern part of the country and specifically northern Florida. However it doesn't seem like that growth has translated into a big fan base there. They might be the likeliest team to move. There are two teams in Florida already and Atlanta isn't that far away either and they are the smallest TV market in the NFL.

[Pidge]

The Bills, Rams, Jags, Vikings, Chargers, Raiders and 49ers are on the list of potential candidates to move into this new venue. Prior to the Katrina disaster, New Orleans was rumored to be a team that might move to LA. However the government and the NFL pumped money into fixing the Superdome after the hurricane. With the team's current success I doubt that they are going anywhere soon.

I can't imagine the league adding a 33rd team that would screw up the schedule and balance in the league. Moving an existing east coast team to the west would surely require some restructuring of the current divisional alignment though.

/>http://www.nfl.com/news/story?id=09000d5d8139c3e9&template=with-video-with-comments&confirm=true

/>http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-nfl-farmer23-2009oct23,0,2970914.column

It will most likely be the Jags. When's the last time they even sold out a game anyhow?

On a side note, what does everyone think about them trying to put a team in London?

From a Londoner's perspective: Dumb idea. I wouldn't support them. Too invested in the Bengals for that. Maybe in 20 yrs or so if the fan base is still growing then sure. Right now, it is very much a minority sport over here. Maybe a million or so people watch the big games and maybe double that for the SB but the day after, no conversations about the game in the streets.

It would cheapen the league as well right now. Now, what the NFL should maybe be looking at is tapping into some of the athletes in Europe/International markets first. There is a very very young and hugely amateur UK University league. Maybe help that as much as they can in terms of admin and expertise get a foothold and create a viable and long-term interest in the game at the grass roots level.

There is a very strong underground of support and love of American football but it is still very underground.

Jesus, rugby barely gets a look in over here. As American and culturally rooted football is in America, the same goes for soccer in most of the rest of the world. Sticking a Franchise in jolly ol' Ingerlund and throwing a couple of billion at it just won't cut it.

[Pidge]

On the ESPN 30 for 30 show about the Baltimore Colts, the low point might have been in 1993 when the NFL announced that the two new expansion teams would be placed in North Carolina and Jacksonville. I recall that at the time the commissioner said that Jacksonville was selected because of the anticipated growth in the southeastern part of the country and specifically northern Florida. However it doesn't seem like that growth has translated into a big fan base there. They might be the likeliest team to move. There are two teams in Florida already and Atlanta isn't that far away either and they are the smallest TV market in the NFL.

I think there is a lot of transience in that area - a bit like LA. A lot of people move there from other parts of the country etc. No really strong identity and therefore a lack of passion for 'local sports teams'.

[jjakq27]

I did a little reading up on their franchise and part of the reason they got the team was that the other groups (St. Louis, Baltimore and Memphis) didn't exactly wow the NFL. They had a tremendous surge in season tickets that helped them get the bid but after the initial success of the team, many ticket licenses expired in the late 90's, they weren't renewed. So the fan base has shrunk. Probably due to some of that transience. Plus you are in the hotbed of college football with Florida and Georgia nearby.

I have a friend that lives in Charleston, SC and he said that many of the old timers there follow the Falcons, even though the "Carolinas" have their own team in Charlotte. I would imagine the same is true in Jacksonville. Looking back it does look like a rather curious decision to put a team there.

NYT article from 1993:
/>http://www.nytimes.com/1993/05/26/sports/pro-football-nfl-entry-fee-is-set-at-140-million.html

[Pidge]

Great point. The powers that be often confuse college football with pro football. Just because an area or region is a hotbed of college ball does not automatically mean it's ripe for a pro franchise. Sometimes, it means the exact opposite.

[Esiason#7]

The Bills, Rams, Jags, Vikings, Chargers, Raiders and 49ers are on the list of potential candidates to move into this new venue. Prior to the Katrina disaster, New Orleans was rumored to be a team that might move to LA. However the government and the NFL pumped money into fixing the Superdome after the hurricane. With the team's current success I doubt that they are going anywhere soon.

I can't imagine the league adding a 33rd team that would screw up the schedule and balance in the league. Moving an existing east coast team to the west would surely require some restructuring of the current divisional alignment though.

/>http://www.nfl.com/news/story?id=09000d5d8139c3e9&template=with-video-with-comments&confirm=true

/>http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-nfl-farmer23-2009oct23,0,2970914.column

It will most likely be the Jags. When's the last time they even sold out a game anyhow?

On a side note, what does everyone think about them trying to put a team in London?

From a Londoner's perspective: Dumb idea. I wouldn't support them. Too invested in the Bengals for that. Maybe in 20 yrs or so if the fan base is still growing then sure. Right now, it is very much a minority sport over here. Maybe a million or so people watch the big games and maybe double that for the SB but the day after, no conversations about the game in the streets.

It would cheapen the league as well right now. Now, what the NFL should maybe be looking at is tapping into some of the athletes in Europe/International markets first. There is a very very young and hugely amateur UK University league. Maybe help that as much as they can in terms of admin and expertise get a foothold and create a viable and long-term interest in the game at the grass roots level.

There is a very strong underground of support and love of American football but it is still very underground.

Jesus, rugby barely gets a look in over here. As American and culturally rooted football is in America, the same goes for soccer in most of the rest of the world. Sticking a Franchise in jolly ol' Ingerlund and throwing a couple of billion at it just won't cut it.

Can you imagine playing for a team in London? Think about all the flying you would have to do. You would have to fly halfway across the globe for 10 games (2 preseason and 8 regular season) and maybe more if you make the playoffs and have to play a team in U.S. The past few years the teams that have played the annual overseas game has talked about how it has taken a lot out of them with all the extra travel, and thats just for one game out of the year. I can't even imagine what a team from London would go through doing that 10 or more times a year........

[Pidge]

The Bills, Rams, Jags, Vikings, Chargers, Raiders and 49ers are on the list of potential candidates to move into this new venue. Prior to the Katrina disaster, New Orleans was rumored to be a team that might move to LA. However the government and the NFL pumped money into fixing the Superdome after the hurricane. With the team's current success I doubt that they are going anywhere soon.

I can't imagine the league adding a 33rd team that would screw up the schedule and balance in the league. Moving an existing east coast team to the west would surely require some restructuring of the current divisional alignment though.

/>http://www.nfl.com/news/story?id=09000d5d8139c3e9&template=with-video-with-comments&confirm=true

/>http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-nfl-farmer23-2009oct23,0,2970914.column

It will most likely be the Jags. When's the last time they even sold out a game anyhow?

On a side note, what does everyone think about them trying to put a team in London?

From a Londoner's perspective: Dumb idea. I wouldn't support them. Too invested in the Bengals for that. Maybe in 20 yrs or so if the fan base is still growing then sure. Right now, it is very much a minority sport over here. Maybe a million or so people watch the big games and maybe double that for the SB but the day after, no conversations about the game in the streets.

It would cheapen the league as well right now. Now, what the NFL should maybe be looking at is tapping into some of the athletes in Europe/International markets first. There is a very very young and hugely amateur UK University league. Maybe help that as much as they can in terms of admin and expertise get a foothold and create a viable and long-term interest in the game at the grass roots level.

There is a very strong underground of support and love of American football but it is still very underground.

Jesus, rugby barely gets a look in over here. As American and culturally rooted football is in America, the same goes for soccer in most of the rest of the world. Sticking a Franchise in jolly ol' Ingerlund and throwing a couple of billion at it just won't cut it.

Can you imagine playing for a team in London? Think about all the flying you would have to do. You would have to fly halfway across the globe for 10 games (2 preseason and 8 regular season) and maybe more if you make the playoffs and have to play a team in U.S. The past few years the teams that have played the annual overseas game has talked about how it has taken a lot out of them with all the extra travel, and thats just for one game out of the year. I can't even imagine what a team from London would go through doing that 10 or more times a year........

Well, for games against East coast teams it wouldn't add more than an hour or so flying time either way, than it would for games between the West coast teams and East coast teams. I take your point though. The only way it could possibly be viable long term is if a European division was set up. That would at least take up 6 games itself and maybe another 4 on the East coast every 3 out of 4 years. So yeah, let's say everything goes smoothly and the game exponentially grows in an already sports-saturated and geographically small market like Europe, at least 25 yrs for that to happen.

What would be f**king nuts is the London/European franchise vs. the West coast teams on a regular week. Not doable.

As someone who regularly flew from the East coast and back to London for a few yrs, the travelling really isn't that bad. The issue the coaches and players are really whining about but don't do too much because it makes them sound like sissies is that it's a total disruption to their routine and takes them out of the comfort zone as athletes preparing for a game. I can fully understand that and it's a more than valid reason for complaint. The travel thing is just a red herring, certainly for East coast teams. It's no worse for them than Seattle having to fly to Boston or NY on a regular week and there's no hand-wringing from those teams about how tired they are and how life is so unfair and I have a boo-boo on my knee.

[cincyhokie]

The Bills, Rams, Jags, Vikings, Chargers, Raiders and 49ers are on the list of potential candidates to move into this new venue. Prior to the Katrina disaster, New Orleans was rumored to be a team that might move to LA. However the government and the NFL pumped money into fixing the Superdome after the hurricane. With the team's current success I doubt that they are going anywhere soon.

I can't imagine the league adding a 33rd team that would screw up the schedule and balance in the league. Moving an existing east coast team to the west would surely require some restructuring of the current divisional alignment though.

/>http://www.nfl.com/news/story?id=09000d5d8139c3e9&template=with-video-with-comments&confirm=true

/>http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-nfl-farmer23-2009oct23,0,2970914.column

Pidge, how did you come to follow the Bengals?

It will most likely be the Jags. When's the last time they even sold out a game anyhow?

On a side note, what does everyone think about them trying to put a team in London?

From a Londoner's perspective: Dumb idea. I wouldn't support them. Too invested in the Bengals for that. Maybe in 20 yrs or so if the fan base is still growing then sure. Right now, it is very much a minority sport over here. Maybe a million or so people watch the big games and maybe double that for the SB but the day after, no conversations about the game in the streets.

It would cheapen the league as well right now. Now, what the NFL should maybe be looking at is tapping into some of the athletes in Europe/International markets first. There is a very very young and hugely amateur UK University league. Maybe help that as much as they can in terms of admin and expertise get a foothold and create a viable and long-term interest in the game at the grass roots level.

There is a very strong underground of support and love of American football but it is still very underground.

Jesus, rugby barely gets a look in over here. As American and culturally rooted football is in America, the same goes for soccer in most of the rest of the world. Sticking a Franchise in jolly ol' Ingerlund and throwing a couple of billion at it just won't cut it.

[Pidge]

Pidge, how did you come to follow the Bengals?

Came over to the States to study and work briefly. Met the daughter of a Cincinnatian. It was part of the dowry that I follow the Bengals. I'd followed football for yrs anyway but as a casual fan of the game with no specific team interest.

[whizzo]

I think the Jags will eventually move to LA. of course, it remains to be seen if LA can support a constant fan base - i always thought it was a sort of "drifter city".

[jjakq27]

I think the Jags will eventually move to LA. of course, it remains to be seen if LA can support a constant fan base - i always thought it was a sort of "drifter city".

With so many people in rehab and jail it's hard to build that fan base.

[COB]

I think the Jags will eventually move to LA. of course, it remains to be seen if LA can support a constant fan base - i always thought it was a sort of "drifter city".

With so many people in rehab and jail it's hard to build that fan base.

Zing!!

[jjakq27]

I think the Jags will eventually move to LA. of course, it remains to be seen if LA can support a constant fan base - i always thought it was a sort of "drifter city".

With so many people in rehab and jail it's hard to build that fan base.

Zing!!

Couldn't resist.

[Passepartout]

Wonder if it will be a new team expansion or an old team that needs a new stadium like the Chargers or the 49ers?

[jjakq27]

Wonder if it will be a new team expansion or an old team that needs a new stadium like the Chargers or the 49ers?

Don't really know about the situation with the 49ers but I think the Chargers are trying to use that as leverage to get a new stadium to stay in SD. Ironically the Chargers did start out in LA in the early 60's.

I doubt that they would create a new franchise at this point. They have perfect symmetry in their divisions and scheduling and adding a 33rd team would mess that up. Probably a better chance that someone will move.

[Ickey44]

Wonder if it will be a new team expansion or an old team that needs a new stadium like the Chargers or the 49ers?

I think Jacksonville will end up in LA. They will have to move at some point. They can't fill the stadium up even when their team is winning.

[ArmyBengal]

Jacksonville would be my guess as well. Sadly though, I don't see the Jags getting much more support in LA.

You can build a new stadium, but that won't make people support that team.

It was like when the Saints owner, Tom Benson, was talking about moving the Saints from New Orleans to San Antonio. As much as San Antonio had the ability to house the Saints, the people there are HARDCORE Cowboys fans and have been for a very long time. The ones that aren't are Texans fans. The support just wouldn't have been there.

I honestly don't want to see another team in California when they've shown they can't hold onto a franchise in LA. Why not give it to some state that doesn't have a team ?? I know the large market is what drives this, but I'm simply saying I'd rather see a team someplace that's never had one.

Oh well...

[Ickey44]

You're right. LA had their chance and they blew it. I know it's the second biggest market out there aside from New York, but they just don't seem to like football out there.

I don't know that Texas needs another team, either. Maybe someplace out in the midwest where there are NO NFL are teams around would be a good place.

[ArmyBengal]

It's like being here in South Dakota. People here are fans of so many different teams it's hard to keep up.

Vikings fans

Packer fans

Bears fans

Broncos fans

Chiefs fans

All of that from people that are FROM here. While I don't think they could support a franchise here, my point is there are places like this that can. Nebraska and Oklahoma are two great college football states and I could see a possibility there, but I can see where it would be a difficult decision to take that risk in a place like that. It's a shame...

[HairOnFire]

Los Angeles can't support an NFL team?

Please. Los Angeles lost two teams soley because of stadium issues. That hardly makes them unique.

And my money is firmly on the Chargers moving north. Years ago, at the request of Charger ownership, Los Angeles was declared to be part of the Chargers home market, thereby allowing the Chargers to show all of their games here.

[HairOnFire]

I think the Jags will eventually move to LA. of course, it remains to be seen if LA can support a constant fan base - i always thought it was a sort of "drifter city".

The unofficial nickname of Los Angeles is....."suitcase city".

In short, we're all here to make more money than we could elsewhere, and we'll all return to our hinterland roots at the first sign of real trouble.

[kenyon1977]

After last night's game, how about moving the Browns out there?

[kingwilly]

I have seen the renderings of the stadium. It is built into a hillside in the hinterlands far east of LA...like not in LA.

The team will be the Jags. They'll be here by 2012. There is a very slight chance the Rams could return but it is far less likely.

/>http://www.losangelesfootballstadium.com/

/>http://www.losangelesfootballstadium.com/images

The ideal spot would have been at the 5/405 junction, on the site of the old El Toro MCAS. But the site is slated to be a big park after they dig out all the contaminated dirt and gas tanks.