National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell has spelled out the parameters for a football team's move to Los Angeles in a memorandum sent to team owners, it was reported today.
According to a memo obtained by the Los Angeles Times, Goodell formally alerted the league's 32 team owners that the Los Angeles market is sufficiently close to having two stadium options that would support two teams.
``Although substantial uncertainties remain," Goodell wrote, "stadiumdevelopment in Los Angeles has advanced to the point where the prospects for a new facility are better than they have been in many years."
Developers behind two competing stadium proposals have met with team owners in a bid to secure a team for their prospective stadiums.
Majestic Realty, owned by real estate Ed Roski, has final approval to build a stadium in the City of Industry.
Anschutz Entertainment Group, owned by Colorado-based developer Philip Anschutz, recently completed an environmental impact report for its proposed
downtown stadium, but needs approval from the city.
Goodall's memo spells out ground rules for owners attempting to move a team to Los Angeles, namely that the league as a whole -- not an individual team owner -- would be required to OK a move to the nation's second biggest market.
Teams reported to be in the running to move to L.A. include the Oakland Raiders, the St. Louis Rams, the San Diego Chargers and the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Southland has been without an NFL team since the Raiders and Rams left the region for Oakland and St. Louis after the 1994 season.
Any team wishing to move to L.A. would have to apply to the league between Jan. 1 and Feb. 15 of 2013; negotiate a deal with a venue such as the Rose Bowl or Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to play temporarily while a stadium is being constructed; and prove that the team has a marketing plan, naming rights and can make financial commitments to the league, the Times reported.
``The overall goal, as we have frequently said, is to ensure that any league re-entry to the Los Angeles market is as successful as possible, both for the club or clubs that will play there and for the league as a whole," Goodell wrote.
TELL US WHAT YOU THINK IN THE COMMENTS
If LA gets an NFL team will it have your allegiance? Which team would you want to see play in LA?
- City News Service
