In LA the right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing out there. They had a prime spot already set aside in Carson and what happened? A fucking soccer stadium/makeshift boxing arena went up. I mean seriously what could be more important to a major metropolitan city than a professional football franchise right? Nope...LA's much too bureaucratic to ever get it done that the people who matter are too busy jerking people that don't matter off.
Shit last I heard my friends are rumoring that the Chargers were headed north. Tell me how much sense that makes right?
But then again, only in L.A.
Shit last I heard my friends are rumoring that the Chargers were headed north. Tell me how much sense that makes right?
But then again, only in L.A.
NEWPORT BEACH – Could an NFL team relocate in Southern California as soon as next season?
John Semcken, project manager for the proposed $800 million NFL stadium in the City of Industry, looked around the ballroom at Big Canyon Country Club on Friday night and hesitated before dropping that provocative possibility into his presentation to the invitation-only audience of Orange County movers and shakers.
Semcken paused, because he knew a few local media had infiltrated the room. Nevertheless, he continued his thought, probably because he also knew there were a few listeners capable of paying for $290,000-a-year private suites if the 75,000-seat stadium ever gets built on the proposed 600-acre site near the interchange of the 57 and 60 freeways.
"We could have a team here as early as next year," Semcken said.
OK, now the obligatory fine print.
First, the litigation against the stadium developer — Majestic Realty Co., owned by billionaire Edward Roski Jr., who was also on hand Friday night — has to be settled. (The City of Walnut, and a group of Walnut residents, have filed separate lawsuits against the project, seeking a new environmental-impact study. Negotiations are continuing, with former California attorney general John Van de Kamp mediating.)
"We're going to be done by the end of September, one way or another, with approval for the stadium," Semcken said, saying he was confident the state Senate would approve environmental waivers on the project if there isn't a settlement with litigants by Sept. 29. "Then it's a matter of which (existing NFL) team is going to come.
"There are a lot of teams whose leases are up and a lot of teams whose revenues are down."
Neither Semcken, nor Roski, would name which teams are on their list of possible tenants, but various published reports have included the Chargers, Raiders, Jacksonville Jaguars, Buffalo Bills, Minnesota Vikings and — uh-oh — St. Louis Rams as those possibly interested in relocating.
But how could a team relocate as soon as 2010 if the stadium will not be ready to open until 2013?
"Once we have an approved stadium, we can offer it to the NFL," Semcken said. "The team could move immediately, play temporarily in the Rose Bowl or play temporarily in the Coliseum ... then move into the new building in 2013 when it's completed."
Why would a team move before the stadium is built?
"Once a team decides it's going to move, it's going to have to move right away," Semcken said. "It won't be able to sell any tickets or sponsorships anymore."
"A team won't announce it's going to leave," Roski added. "They'll have to move a day ahead of time."
Remember how the Baltimore Colts moved to Indianapolis in the middle of the night in 1984? Same concept.
Roski, a co-owner of the Lakers and Kings and the key developer of the privately financed Staples Center 10 years ago, also headed the ownership group that lost an NFL expansion team to Houston in 2001. But he is confident the NFL will steer a team to his new stadium in the City of Industry, because his proposal is no longer tied to the antiquated Coliseum.
He has spent $12 million of his money in the planning process, and he says the league — motivated to return to the second-largest media market for the first time since the Rams and Raiders bolted in 1994 — already has invested at least $10 million conducting its studies.
Saying there are 111/2 million residents within a 30-mile radius of the new stadium site, Semcken points out the NFL advised Roski's group to plan a stadium that would house two NFL teams at the same time.
But the stadium project is called "Los Angeles Football Stadium" (see www.losangelesfootballstadium.com for more details). So why were Roski and Semcken in Orange County the past two weeks pitching their proposal?
"Because we don't want people in Orange County to think of it as an L.A. stadium, especially because it's closer to Orange County," Semcken said. "The site is 14 miles from Disneyland and 22 miles from downtown Los Angeles."
There also are a few people in Orange County with deep pockets. That might have something to do with Roski's interest, too.
John Semcken, project manager for the proposed $800 million NFL stadium in the City of Industry, looked around the ballroom at Big Canyon Country Club on Friday night and hesitated before dropping that provocative possibility into his presentation to the invitation-only audience of Orange County movers and shakers.
Semcken paused, because he knew a few local media had infiltrated the room. Nevertheless, he continued his thought, probably because he also knew there were a few listeners capable of paying for $290,000-a-year private suites if the 75,000-seat stadium ever gets built on the proposed 600-acre site near the interchange of the 57 and 60 freeways.
"We could have a team here as early as next year," Semcken said.
OK, now the obligatory fine print.
First, the litigation against the stadium developer — Majestic Realty Co., owned by billionaire Edward Roski Jr., who was also on hand Friday night — has to be settled. (The City of Walnut, and a group of Walnut residents, have filed separate lawsuits against the project, seeking a new environmental-impact study. Negotiations are continuing, with former California attorney general John Van de Kamp mediating.)
"We're going to be done by the end of September, one way or another, with approval for the stadium," Semcken said, saying he was confident the state Senate would approve environmental waivers on the project if there isn't a settlement with litigants by Sept. 29. "Then it's a matter of which (existing NFL) team is going to come.
"There are a lot of teams whose leases are up and a lot of teams whose revenues are down."
Neither Semcken, nor Roski, would name which teams are on their list of possible tenants, but various published reports have included the Chargers, Raiders, Jacksonville Jaguars, Buffalo Bills, Minnesota Vikings and — uh-oh — St. Louis Rams as those possibly interested in relocating.
But how could a team relocate as soon as 2010 if the stadium will not be ready to open until 2013?
"Once we have an approved stadium, we can offer it to the NFL," Semcken said. "The team could move immediately, play temporarily in the Rose Bowl or play temporarily in the Coliseum ... then move into the new building in 2013 when it's completed."
Why would a team move before the stadium is built?
"Once a team decides it's going to move, it's going to have to move right away," Semcken said. "It won't be able to sell any tickets or sponsorships anymore."
"A team won't announce it's going to leave," Roski added. "They'll have to move a day ahead of time."
Remember how the Baltimore Colts moved to Indianapolis in the middle of the night in 1984? Same concept.
Roski, a co-owner of the Lakers and Kings and the key developer of the privately financed Staples Center 10 years ago, also headed the ownership group that lost an NFL expansion team to Houston in 2001. But he is confident the NFL will steer a team to his new stadium in the City of Industry, because his proposal is no longer tied to the antiquated Coliseum.
He has spent $12 million of his money in the planning process, and he says the league — motivated to return to the second-largest media market for the first time since the Rams and Raiders bolted in 1994 — already has invested at least $10 million conducting its studies.
Saying there are 111/2 million residents within a 30-mile radius of the new stadium site, Semcken points out the NFL advised Roski's group to plan a stadium that would house two NFL teams at the same time.
But the stadium project is called "Los Angeles Football Stadium" (see www.losangelesfootballstadium.com for more details). So why were Roski and Semcken in Orange County the past two weeks pitching their proposal?
"Because we don't want people in Orange County to think of it as an L.A. stadium, especially because it's closer to Orange County," Semcken said. "The site is 14 miles from Disneyland and 22 miles from downtown Los Angeles."
There also are a few people in Orange County with deep pockets. That might have something to do with Roski's interest, too.
Posted by Mike Florio on September 22, 2009 4:32 PM ET
As the NFL vacuum in Los Angeles continues to exist, nearly 15 years after it was first created, the president of a nearby franchise (relative to the rest of them) has said that the league still wants to put a team back in L.A.
Michael Bidwill of Arizona Cardinals explained on FOX Business Channel (via SportsBusiness Daily) that placing a franchise in Los Angeles "continues to be a priority for the league."
(And we'd hate to see how long the nation's second-largest market would be without an NFL team if it weren't a priority.)
Bidwill also said that the league has had a "working group" focusing on the situation "for a long time."
"Certainly, addressing how you finance a privately-financed stadium is one of the critical issues for the <st1:city><st1
lace>L.A.</st1lace></st1:city> market," Bidwill added.
A proposal to alter California law, which would likely moot the pending litigation, has been tabled in lieu of efforts to settle the case. The mediator assigned to the matter has indicated that a resolution could be reached by the end of the current week.
As the NFL vacuum in Los Angeles continues to exist, nearly 15 years after it was first created, the president of a nearby franchise (relative to the rest of them) has said that the league still wants to put a team back in L.A.
Michael Bidwill of Arizona Cardinals explained on FOX Business Channel (via SportsBusiness Daily) that placing a franchise in Los Angeles "continues to be a priority for the league."
(And we'd hate to see how long the nation's second-largest market would be without an NFL team if it weren't a priority.)
Bidwill also said that the league has had a "working group" focusing on the situation "for a long time."
"Certainly, addressing how you finance a privately-financed stadium is one of the critical issues for the <st1:city><st1
lace>L.A.</st1lace></st1:city> market," Bidwill added.A proposal to alter California law, which would likely moot the pending litigation, has been tabled in lieu of efforts to settle the case. The mediator assigned to the matter has indicated that a resolution could be reached by the end of the current week.
http://www.losangelesfootballstadium.com/
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The people of Southern California supported the team when it was both at the Colisseum and in Anaheim. Sure there were a few years when attendance was down but the people would support the team again just like all the other professional sports teams in the area.
It's the politics that have been keeping a team out of SoCal, not the fans.
