By Julie Buehler
As the NFL prepared for it’s second game in London at a sold-out Wembley Stadium, commissioner Roger Goodell told a contingent of European fans that he’d like to have NFL franchises in London and LA, and didn’t care which came first.
He said, “I’d love to be back in Los Angeles, but it has to be done the right way, we have to do it successfully.” He then continued, “I want both (London and L.A.), but it doesn’t matter which one is first.”
Allow me to translate: “If the crybabies in LA don’t get their act together, they could see an NFL franchise in London BEFORE LA.”
Allow me to further translate: “The only way LA is getting a franchise is if the crybabies in LA get their act together.”
Oh, and one more thing he said without saying it: “London is a better NFL city than LA.”
Rest assured, there will NOT be an NFL franchise in London in the next decade. And there likely COULD be one in LA. However, given the constant bickering over location of stadium, ownership percentage and wonderment over the fickle nature of LA fans, Goodell has his hands somewhat tied and is saying A LOT with a few words.
Let’s begin with the stadium itself. There were/are 2 options on the table that at any one given time could become the favorite over the other.
1) Farmer’s Field is the name for the gazillion dollar plan laid by AEG, the same people who own Staple Center and the downtown corridor of LA called LA Live, to be built in the downtown corridor of the 2nd largest city in America. They have deep pockets, recently experienced change of leadership, but have publicly said they are determined to build a gianormous stadium in downtown LA to house an NFL franchise. Not sure you’ve heard, but LA traffic is already historically bad in the downtown area. On a Sunday, with 80,000+ coming and going, with limited-to-none serviceable public transportation, that “historically bad” quickly becomes “impossibly awful” and city planners know that all too well and aren’t excited about that option. That leads us to Option 2.
2) Diamond Bar, outskirts of LA, etc. There is a group ready to break ground for any NFL team looking to come to LA and they have land and resources to build. Only thing holding them back is an NFL franchise agreeing to lease their soon-to-be-built field and offer some percentage of ownership in the deal as well. You see, not many builders are willing to build a $1.5 billion facility without owning part of an NFL franchise. Concurrently, not many current NFL owners looking to potentially move and sign away upwards of 35% of their franchise. Additionally, if a team were to agree to move, where would they play while this stadium is being built? More on that in a moment.
Many critics of this plan claim that if a team is going to be called the LA “Team” they shouldn’t be playing some 50 miles from Los Angeles. However, the new Santa Clara stadium, Levi Stadium is some 50 miles from San Francisco where the 49ers hail. The New York Jets and New York Giants both play at Met Life Stadium in New Jersey and the University of Phoenix Stadium is 30 miles from Phoenix where the Arizona Cardinals play. What do all three stadiums have in common, besides not being precisely held within imaginary jurisdiction of the NFL franchises? They’ve all been awarded Super Bowls. So those critics don’t have much of an argument.
Beyond the placement of the stadium, which is a mountainous hurdle, is the Mt. Everest of hurdles in the ownership percentage. Neither of the groups involved in option 1 or option 2 will commit to building unless an NFL franchise commits to moving and gives up ownership, upwards of 35% in the deal. Only problem is no NFL franchise is signing up to move unless a stadium is built. Past tense. So it’s the chicken or the egg debate in the NFL. What comes first: the Franchise or the Stadium. While reports are the groups could lessen their request of ownership percentage, it still doesn’t solve the issue of where to house 53+ player, 20-30 coaches, front office staff, practice facilities, etc. There are some possibilities, from the LA Coliseum to the Rose Bowl, there are still many complexities woven into what is largely an oversimplified debate about how successful an NFL franchise would be in LA.
And once you climb the mountainous hurdle of stadium placement, and get past the Mt. Everest climb of ownership squabbles, you are still left with the inherent fickle nature of the Los Angeles sports fan. When a team is winning, fans attend games and it becomes the most popular ticket in town. But’s feast or famine. Even for an NFL franchise, if it’s not winning, fans won’t show up and there’s nothing more embarrassing than a state-of-the-art stadium at half capacity.
The current NFL owners aren’t looking to add more slices to the pie, so expanding the NFL would be a very complicated process. Rather, the best shot for LA to get an NFL team would be the relocation of another franchise.
There remains a decent possibility the Oakland Raiders could make the move, as their lease agreement with O.co Stadium is up at the end of this season and they’ve said they will not sign another short-term deal. Meanwhile, Mark Davis, in the wake of his father’s passing, could be amiable to the idea of selling part of the franchise in order to make more money in LA. And the Coliseum, where the Raiders used to play, is being renovated by USC, so that could be a landing place for the team while their new stadium is being built.
When Goodell said he didn’t care whether London or LA got an NFL franchise first, he was putting the players in LA on notice that he and the rest of the NFL could move past LA if they don’t come off their high demands and commit to building a stadium so an NFL franchise can make calculated decisions.
Let’s hope they hear the message loud and clear.
Julie Buehler hosts the Coachella Valley’s most popular sports talk radio show, “Buehler’s Day Off” every day from 3-6 on 1010 KXPS, the valley’s all sports station. She’s an avid gym rat, slightly sarcastic and more likely to recite Steve Young’s career passing stats than American Idol winners. Tune in M-F 3-6 pst at www.team1010.com or watch the show on Ustream.
