News & Press

Excerpt: This is purely a rumor since I obtained this information from a "source". Apparently the NFL is looking to fill the NFL void in Los Angeles within the next 2-3 years. Recently there has been a proposal to build a stadium and Roger Goodell is weighing his options.

Option #1: Relocation of current NFL teams: Jacksonville Jaguars, Minnesota Vikings, New Orleans Saints, San Diego Chargers, Buffalo Bills and the Oakland Raiders (if Al Davis passes in the next 2 years). I'm not sure if these teams will keep their current logos etc or just move the franchise (i.e how the Cleveland Browns became the Baltimore Ravens).

Option #2: The NFL will create new teams for both the AFC and NFC. The prime candidates are LA and San Antonio. There was also the idea of having 2 Los Angeles based teams (NFC/AFC) to take advantage of the second largest market in the U.S. when it comes to football/accumulating revenue.

The next "phase" might include teams located in: Portland, Las Vegas and Oklahoma.

Apparently there is supposed to be a "private" fund raiser which will include both the Raiders and Chargers. People who attend this event will donate 25k (with the goal aimed at 3 million). Yes. I realize this sounds absurd. But it was an included conversation piece with the "source"....

Go to Yardbarker Blog

City leaders will move mountains to bring a professional-football stadium to Southern California. They'll also build sewers, construct streets and install utilities, according to a contract at City Hall.

And they'll give developer Majestic Realty Co. free use of $600 million to $800 million in public land for 65 years. In return, the city will get half the profits.

It's a deal that makes sense for both sides, said John Semcken, a vice president of Majestic Realty Co. and lead for the stadium project...

"We'll get our money back," Mayor Dave Perez said. "Think about it. We still own the land. And think about how high rent is going to be in 50 years. We're getting paid back and then some."

Majestic's proposal to build an $800 million stadium and retail complex by 2011 has been called an "interesting possibility" by NFL officials. Majestic Chairman Ed Roski Jr. said he hopes to have an environmental review on the project wrapped up by the end of this year…

The land has been under Roski's control since April 2005, when his company and Industry's redevelopment agency approved the 50-50 style lease in hopes of building a business park, according to city documents. A city's redevelopment agency typically uses property tax revenue generated from an area to spur economic development, such as buying land or providing businesses with subsidies.

Roski approached the city to change the allowed use last year, and city officials said they would be willing to alter the agreement to work with Majestic Realty. The project would include the stadium, retail areas, a sports medicine clinic and a training complex, according to information from Majestic.

Professional sports complexes have a long history of getting public assistance, even in Los Angeles, where voters and politicians have resisted using public money to assist billionaire developers, experts say.

Dodger Stadium, for instance, was built on land owned by Los Angeles and the federal government and was steeply discounted for the Dodgers' owners.

"That was part of the deal at the Chavez Ravine," said Baade, the sports economist who wrote the report on the Staples Center. "In the case of Dodger Stadium, it was ballyhooed as private financing, but there was a major land subsidy. Nearly all of these things are subsidized in for one thing or another."

Perez said he "totally confident" the city will make money.

"We had to develop that land anyway," he said. "It wasn't going to stay hills forever."

Go to San Bernardino Sun

Excerpt: ...As the Colts prepare to open Lucas Oil Field, it's worth pointing out there is at least one team whose dream of a similar facility remains in the far-distant future -- if at all.

The Minnesota Vikings have been lobbying for a new stadium since the middle of the 1990s, spanning three ownership groups, and to date have made only incremental progress. Their lease at the Metrodome expires after the 2011 season, and the price on owner Zygi Wilf's proposal for a new facility is expected to rise well above $1 billion when the final figures come in...

The NFL has embraced a recent proposal to build a privately financed stadium in California's City of Industry. Renderings of the stadium, proposed by Los Angeles businessman Ed Roski, can be seen here.

On the Web site, Roski's group hints that it has made contact with multiple NFL teams but adds: "We can not disclose which teams we are talking with."

If you're a conspiracy theorist, you probably noticed the depiction of the new stadium includes purple seats -- perhaps to match the Vikings' primary color?

Go to ESPN.com