Roski plans 'major announcement' about NFL in L.A. Wednesday, April 16, 2008 LOS ANGELES (AP) Edward P. Roski Jr., a part owner of the Kings and Lakers who has spent several years trying to lure an NFL team to the Los Angeles area, has scheduled a news conference at Staples Center to make a "major announcement" concerning the league and L.A. On Thursday, Roski will unveil his latest concept for a stadium in the City of Industry, near the southern intersection of the 57 and 60 freeways some 20 miles east of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Times reported on its Web site Wednesday. The stadium would be surrounded by a high-end shopping mall, already in the works, the newspaper said. Roski didn't immediately return a phone call from The Associated Press. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello told the AP that the league wasn't involved in Thursday's news conference. Los Angeles, the second-largest market in the country, has been without an NFL team since 1995, when the Raiders moved back to Oakland after playing 13 years at the Los Angeles Coliseum and the Rams moved from Anaheim to St. Louis. Los Angeles lost out to Houston for an expansion franchise since that time, and the league hasn't made relocating to the area a top priority in recent years. Proposals have been made for numerous stadium sites in the area over the years including the Coliseum and the Rose Bowl in Pasadena as well as in Irwindale, Inglewood, Carson and Anaheim. Roski and Philip Anschutz, the head of AEG, headed up construction of Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles. The Lakers, Kings and Arena Football League's Los Angeles Avengers play their home games at the facility, which opened in October 1999. AEG is not involved in Thursday's news conference either, according to a spokesman. couldnt get the link for that one friend sent me it in email but heres another site http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aBqaMGyGsZPo&refer=us
L.A. shouldnt get a brand new team they should just relocate a team, no one wants the NFL to become watered down like the MLB where some teams have no chance to compete at all. Also the LA fan base has proved that it is a fairweather market, heck they they leave after the 6th inning of a baseball game
I agree with Iversonheels here, L.A. fans can be very fairweather, I also don't want to see a 33 team, that just throws things out of whack, and 34 teams doesn't help any more. So the question becomes what team would be relocated to L.A.? Teams whose current city doesn't seem to want them to stay, or teams who feel like they need to branch out. So the only team that really comes to mind is the Buffalo Bills. They are trying to play half their home games in Toronto, which says to me the organization is not fond of Buffalo. So while as a newyorker, It would be weird to not have the Bills in Buffalo, I think they are the team most likely to be ready to relocate.
I would agree I have a lot of family upstate in the Buffalo area the economy is horrible up there and environment is crap would never be able to get the money if needed for a new stadium. The only other team I could possibly imagine would be the Lions because face it their GM is a big enough idiot to screw anything up
It's going to take a few years to set all of this up. I wouldn't mind seeing a few more expansion teams. Toronto, LA, Orlando, Las Vegas...all of these cities are very capable of supporting an NFL team.
The Bills? No f'kin thanks. The Lions? Without Matt M.. City of industry... not so much of a promising commute. There would be to much traffic to fight thru (101, 60...etc). Only the local enthusiasts could benefit.
LA doesn't deserve an NFL team. The fact that they are the second largest market in US and have the WORST fan base in the US, at least as far as knowledgable/loyal/die-hard/dedication is concerned, is the reason. The NFL should leave the glaring spotlight on them for NOT being a deserving fan base. Out here...no one cares UNLESS it's playoffs, period. That's Dodgers. That's Lakers. Two of the most esteemed franchises in all of sports, and the fans...could...care...less. Beautiful facilities...top notch in all areas. Dodgers Stadium might be the best purest stadium in all of sports. Fans roll in during the 3rd. Leave in the 6th. PAthetic. The NFL should gift a deserving city and help with that city's local economy. A city that needs a boost.
I agree with the city that needs a boost part. As for diehard fans not all of us leave early. I am a diehard laker fan that couldn't imagine not getting my moneys worth for a game at Staples no matter what the record stands at. The past few years I have been going to staples to see a team in need of help play. Shit, I am going to a Dodger game on the 23d and I live over an hour away deep in Ventura County.
It won't be an expansion team it would be a team with stadium issues moving ( also they would have to agree to move before he built the stadium if you read the article) A good team moving would do well in LA, actually even the Clippers draw ok in LA, but if one of the rumored teams moved, say JAX they would draw huge, LA's problem is that so many people who live here (like me) moved here as adults, so there is no real loyalty to the team, but you'd be suprised how many Raiders fans are still around. The proposed location is in a great spot too, city of industry is pretty easy to get to, and I think at least for a while it would sell out no matter how good the team is.
I doubt the Bills will move anywhere with the support they have from fans. It doesn't help them that their population is around 1 million compared to a city like Pittsburgh with 2 million. W/e though. I'd say the Saints, Vikes, or Jags are next due to fan interest. LA losing a team doesn't sound right to me being a large city but I guess the 3rd times a charm?
I know that was just a joke, but the Galaxy have an awesome soccer-only facility in Carson that is only a couple of years old. As for the NFL in LA....as I always say they already have a professional team, it's call USC. Any NFL franchise that comes will be like the Clippers with USC as the Lakers.
Wow the intersection of Pomona and Orange Freeways? Not exactly prime LA area there, It certainly would suck driving from the Santa Monica or Malibu areas. My guess with the location is they'd anticipate fans from LA, OC, Riverside and San Bernadino to attend the games as it's fairly centralized. Doesn't make me wanna dump my Charger tix either..... I'd rather drive to SD than deal with the mess in that area 8 times a year. I-15 to Friars Blvd. Pretty dam easy....... Of course if I had to guess about the team that would play there it would be the Chargers as Qualcomm isn't really a football stadium and it was built in the 60's. Throw in it doesn't appear the Chargers will be getting a new stadium any time soon. Remember you heard LA Chargers here 1st
FITM... The Bengals and Bills aren't going anywhere. Teams with bad ticket sales are the ones to go. I believe the Steelers, Patriots, Bills, 49ers, and a few other teams have the best ticket sales in the league last I checked. The Bills are renewing their Buffalo lease and have a stadium proposed downtown in 5 years. I highly doubt the Vikings are moving because they also are building a new stadium. The Jaguars need tarps and Florida is already flooded with football teams. I see them leaving if anyone.
the jags have a small fan base, bad ticket sales, a short and not so spectacular history and a small market. If anyone is moving it should be them.
Jacksonville is a great city don't get me wrong - but if you can't fill up a stadium of that size with a population that high - someones losing money.
Sorry but I don't think the Jags are moving anywhere. I don't know what their ticket sales are like but the NFL never admits to making mistakes and by allowing Jax to move they'd admit they made a mistake in expansion. The only viable teams I see moving to LA would be New Orleans, the city is still not fully recovered but there is no way they can continue to support two major league franchises. The other team being the Chargers, there have already been rumors about them moving to LA and they want a new stadium in Oceanside which they aren't going to get. It also wouldn't create scheduling nightmares for the league with an East Coast Team in LA. They now have a waiting list for season tickets but the proposed new stadium wouldn't be that far for the fans that decided to keep their tickets. A good percentage of their fans are from the LA area so it makes sense. I'd prefer to see them stay in SD as I like going there better than Pomona.
There are three teams in Florida with the Jaguars: Tampa Bay, Jacksonville, and Miami. If California gets another team they will have FOUR teams: San Francisco, San Diego, Oakland, and Los Angeles. The Jaguars fan base, and ticket sales would be a good reason to move the franchise out west, but it wouldn't be because Florida has too many teams. Los Angeles is probably one of the most marketable cities in the world.
