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The dream that refuses to die - bring an NFL team to Los Angeles

MichiganMichigan Posts: 4,942 ✭
in Sports Talk
In Los Angeles, the sports-construction cliche is: If you build it, they probably will leave by the seventh inning.

But that isn't stopping billionaire Ed Roski from unveiling an ambitious plan today to erect a football palace to house a southern California NFL team he probably will have to steal from another city.

Mr. Ed bottom lines at about $2.3 billion, and ranks No. 195 with a bullet on Forbes' list of American Big Hitters. So he'll be taken seriously, even though the NFL appears to have given up on LA. Roski also was instrumental in getting LA's Staples Center built.

If Roski succeeds, this will be a gas-burning addition for Los Angeles football fans. Roski's geographical choice for this venture is out in the city of Industry, which you may driven through on your many trips to Chino Hills, West Covina or Pomona.

Comments

  • bsidegrvebsidegrve Posts: 687
    Just hope it's not gonna be the LA Billsimage
    or Toronto Bills for that matter..
    image

    Mark
    --------------------------------------------
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  • sagardsagard Posts: 1,899 ✭✭✭
    God I hope it's the LA Vikings.
  • TreetopTreetop Posts: 1,474 ✭
    City of Industry would be a good choice. Its right about in the center of the populated areas of So cal. 20 - 30 minutes from central Orange County, City of Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino.

    Bring back the Rams!
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  • SanctionIISanctionII Posts: 12,120 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I remember years ago when the Raiders were considering moving (either from the Bay Area to LA or from LA to somewhere else) the Raiders negotiated with a small city in the LA Basin (Irwindale, I think). The city's claim to fame was a huge gravel pit within its borders, from which gravel would be taken for various uses. The City wanted some other identity and made a pitch to have the Raiders move to the City and call it home. The City paid someting like $10,000,000.00 to the Raiders. Of course, the Raiders did not move to the gravel pit city and the Raiders kept the $10,000,000.00.

    In general, most folks from the LA basin I talk to have little interest in obtaining an NFL team. Too many other things to do and see in the area. Thus many people simply do not have the hunger for a team like other cities would (i.e. Green Bay or Buffalo).
  • gosteelersgosteelers Posts: 2,668 ✭✭✭
    Jacksonville, Atlanta, and Oakland seem like the logical choices here...
  • JackWESQJackWESQ Posts: 2,133 ✭✭✭
    I live in the L.A. area and I would love to see a team come here. But the only reason I want a team here is so that I don't have to travel to S.F. or Pittsburg to see the 49ers or Steelers play. In other words, I want a team here so that I can root for the road team. I can't know for sure, but I think there are a lot of people with this sentiment. Simply stated, if a team were ever to come to L.A., there would not be enough local support.

    This reminds me of when I used to see ads in the L.A. Times for the Clippers and they would try to market the team by who the Clippers were playing ... not the Clippers themselves, e.g. "Come watch the Clippers take on LeBron, Duncan, Iverson, etc."

    /s/ JackWESQ
    image
  • AhmanfanAhmanfan Posts: 4,389 ✭✭✭✭
    are there not enough nfl fans in that super huge city? I thought the nfl was a nationwide brand, with so many fantasy football players, etc.
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  • SanctionIISanctionII Posts: 12,120 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I am sure there are plenty of NFL fans in the Los Angeles basin. I am sure that if a team does get placed into LA, over time a loyal fan base would be generated.

    However, the loss of and the absence of an NFL team did notdoes not cause LA Basin residents the "angst" and the "longing" that was present when the Browns left Clevland to become the Baltimore Ravens or when the Colts left Baltimore for Indianapolis.

    Maybe the people in the LA Basin are just too "laid back" in the California Sun.
  • SanctionIISanctionII Posts: 12,120 ✭✭✭✭✭
    One more thing.

    It would be crazy funny and ironic if the Raiders (whose lease for the Oakland Colesium expires I believe after the 2010 season) and Al Davis pull up stakes and move back to LA.
  • GootGoot Posts: 3,496
    If I lived in LA during the football season, I'd go see USC or UCLA before going to see the NFL squad. I don't really have any reasoning behind it, but I personally don't want to see the NFL go to LA. They already have enough crap to keep themselves occupied anyways, like sit in traffic. image
  • JackWESQJackWESQ Posts: 2,133 ✭✭✭


    << <i>Maybe the people in the LA Basin are just too "laid back" in the California Sun. >>



    I can't argue with that!



    << <i>If I lived in LA during the football season, I'd go see USC or UCLA before going to see the NFL squad. >>



    You're so right! And I do.

    /s/ JackWESQ
    image
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