The NFL’s return to Los Angeles is starting to look more and more realistic. Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times reports that the league is considering financing and owning a stadium in the City of Angels.
As Farmer writes, the most common scenario would involve a team asking the NFL for financial assistance in building a stadium. The league would assist, but the club would have to pay a hefty relocation fee. However, the team would subsequently have full control of the venue.
Instead, the league seems to be going down a different path. If the NFL owns a stadium, the league would essentially act as a team’s landlord. The league might struggle to find a team willing to work under those conditions, but the NFL could also use various revenue streams to entice a potential tenant.
An NFL-owned stadium would also mean that the venue would host more than regular season (or postseason) football games. As Farmar suggests, Los Angeles could host the draft, the Pro Bowl and a Super Bowl. The writer also believes the league could relocate the NFL Network and NFL.com to the city.
If you ask some of the league’s owners, they’re willing to do just about anything to bring an NFL team back to Los Angeles for the first time since 1994. Take Patriots owner Robert Kraft for example…
“Whatever gets us a team in L.A., that would be awesome. That might be the solution. Whatever it takes, I know I’d be willing to support.”
The Raiders are on their way back to LA, which is great for me because their the one Bay Area team that I have the same feeling toward as the teams in LA.