does LA want an NFL team? (Los Angeles: how much, construction, taxes)

[TomasG3]

I've gotten thenompression that Los Angeles isn't really all that stoked about the possibility of getting another team.It's as if both AEG and the NFL are kind of forcing it upon the city.And are the taxpayers expected to fund the new stadium downtown?Still haven't gotten clarification on that.

[pbergen]

don't believe the hype.

there are quite a few angelenos who would love to see an nfl team relocate to the city and are pretty excited about the possibility of it happening soon, maybe as soon as 2012.

and of course there are also plenty of naysayers. their myriad concerns include traffic, taxes, a personal indifference to spectator sports, negative memories of thuggish raider fans, old-fashioned nimby-ism, and so forth.

basically, you'll find a wide variety of opinions on the subject. for every person who hates the project, you'll find someone who's all for it.

the thing is, the naysayers tend to be a lot more vocal than the supporters on sites such as this. so don't read too much into what you might've heard on internet boards or the comments section of online newspapers. the bottom line is that if and when an nfl franchise relocates to LA, there will plenty of local support for the new team. the football fans will love it, the stadium will be packed, and the project opponents and/or football haters will just have to deal with it.

as for the proposed downtown stadium, aeg would pay for the stadium itself while bonds would be floated to cover the demolition and reconstruction of the north wing of the adjacent convention center. some of the bonds would be repaid via a special tax district surrounding aeg's other properties in the area such as LA Live, with the remainder covered by future revenue from the farmers field development, the adjacent parking structures, and billboard advertising.

[BRinSM]

your impression of the lack of interest probably has to do with the city being burned so many times. first it was crummy ownership that took 2 teams away in the same year, then it was multiple proposals that never panned out. i think most people have the 'i'll believe it when i see it' mentality when it comes to the nfl in LA.

[Troof]

Heck yeah.

[Mike121]

Nah. Don't care about football anymore. Haven't watched a game since the Rams left OC, and my life is better for it.

[TomasG3]

which team would you want to see relocate there?I have a sick feeling it will eventually be the Raiders.Oh joy right LA?

[yamota]

You need an armed escort if you're a fan of the opposing team at Dodger games, how much more at a Raider game

[pbergen]

right now, it's impossible to say which team is the most likely candidate for relocation to LA. over the past few years, i've read so many conflicting stories about the various relocation candidates that i don't know what to believe anymore.

on any given day, i might hear that the vikings are the most likely candidate to move. then i hear it's going to be the jaguars. next day, the chargers. and of course, the rams and raiders are always mentioned simply because they actually played in the city. (the chargers did as well, but it was only for one season so it's not the same.)

i don't really care which team ends up relocating to LA since i already have a longstanding rooting interest in a non-LA team. but IMO the rams make the most sense for a variety of historical and sentimental reasons:

-they played in LA for 49 years, so there is a long and storied history with significant ties to the city.
-some of LA's most famous pro athletes played for the rams: norm van brocklin, elroy "crazy legs" hirsch, tom fears, bob waterfield, deacon jones, merlin olsen, roman gabriel, jack youngblood, eric dickerson, and so on.
-they won the first title in LA's pro sports history (1951 nfl championship) and were highly competitive for parts of each decade they were in town other than the 1990s.
-because of their early success, they were once the most popular team in town, drawing over 90,000 fans to the LA coliseum back in the day.

as for the raiders, it's impossible to say whether they're going to stay in the bay area or move back down to LA. this is because al davis is so unpredictable - you just never know what the guy is going to do. seriously, the man has become a caricature of himself, almost like the kim jong-il of nfl owners.

[HotchildintheCity]

L.A is a huge market..its not a matter of if but when. Ever since the Rams and Raiders left it has left many fans craving for a team. Its been a long time..thats why investors want to tap into this goldmine and build Farmers Field.

[LaoTzuMindFu]

Originally Posted by TomasG3

which team would you want to see relocate there?I have a sick feeling it will eventually be the Raiders.Oh joy right LA?

I hope not. The only people who want the Raiders here are the Mexicans and gang banger/criminal types. I would be happy with ANY TEAM other than the Raiders. Chargers and/or Seahawks seem to be in the discussion among many insiders.