For some reason this took a day to filter over to my news feed, but on CBS Morning News on Tuesday, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said for the first time that only one of the two L.A. stadium plans can succeed:
“We have two proposed, but we have to pick one or the other. It’s not likely we’ll pick both stadiums.”
This isn’t really any surprise — it’s hard enough to picture that there’s enough money from naming rights, personal seat licenses, etc., to get one nearly-$2-billion stadium built, so two would be downright inconceivable. Not to mention that one of the stadiums, the one in Carson, is supposed to be home to two teams (the San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders), and there’s no way the NFL is going to let three teams move to L.A. all at once.
This whole L.A. battle, really, is turning into a multi-sided mess, where the various team owners are trying to pit Inglewood and Carson against officials in St. Louis and San Diego and Oakland in competition for who can offer the most lucrative incentives; and where they’re simultaneously all fighting for their fellow owners’ blessing as the team(s) that should get to take over the L.A. market and leave their old ones behind. If any team ends up getting to do that. Or wanting to.
Basically, remember that sports leagues aren’t secret cabals filled with supervillains working in lockstep; they’re more like the Evil League of Evil, simultaneously teaming up and competing with each other. I have no idea who’s going to win this battle right now, but suffice to say that none of the rich guys involved are going to be any less rich at the end of it.
How many votes are needed to approve a move? I’m curious how that part could play out between the owners (in private of course) since once the news leaks which team(s) are moving, the one(s) that are staying lose a big chunk of their perceived leverage.
I’m surprised Goodell would be opposed to 2 stadiums if they’re privately funded. The carson stadium is the only one to my knowledge that’s relying on money from naming rights, personal seat licenses, etc. Sure, Inglewood would enjoy those contributions too, but Stan Kroenke could build his out of pocket.
I saw this as LA pairing 2 new stadiums with their 2 current stadiums to make a run at the world cup…..
@Jordan- For all the riches that befall the host of the World Cup ?
Hi Jordan,
LA demonstrated in 1994 that they could not even support one team, as both the Raiders and the Rams simultaneously vacated after that season. Is it realistic to think that LA can or will now support 3 teams? The Rams averaged 43,312 home attendance in 1994 – capacity 65,000. The Raiders averaged 51,196 for that year – capacity 93,000. Where will all the new and additional fans come from?
My guess is that they go with Silent Stan. Then they will move the Raiders in there with him. San Diego will get a new stadium, with Goodell’s help. I mean, I’m only guessing.
Zach: Relocation requires a 3/4 vote of NFL owners.
Jordan: Even if Kroenke fronts the money for a stadium out of his own pocket, he’d need naming rights, PSLs, etc., to pay himself back. Either stadium needs to use the Santa Clara model to have any hope of raising $1.7B or so — doing both at the same time would be almost impossible.
I love watching this play out. The best part is that you have greedy owners battling each other like children fighting over the new bulldozer in the sandbox at day care.
Sure, the cities of Carson and Inglewood are pitted against each other, but we have 3 owners vying for the LA riches and prestige (which are specious at best given the numbers Scott Myers posted above). I see a smear owner-on-owner violence, jaded polls, and smear campaigns coming. And when one (or two) of them loses out a legal battle ensuing. Fun Fun Fun.
Then, after all is said and done, the loser(s) have to go back to their own cities grovelling. London (except possibly for the Raiders) or a shifting of the deck chairs (e.g. Chargers moving to St. Louis if the Rams go to LA) are laughable bargaining chips for the poor owners that will get the cone of shame when the other owners vote. Would love to be at those league meetings.
I am certain that Goodell and Grubman will make sure the owners that lose out on L.A. will get to leverage their own cities for stadium cash before anything gets finalized. They’re way too experienced at this to do otherwise, and they control the timetable here.
“I am certain that Goodell and Grubman will make sure the owners that lose out on L.A. will get to leverage their own cities for stadium cash…”
I see zero new stadiums in LA. Isn’t the whole purpose of this charade to get not one, not two, but three new stadiums?
Oakland. San Diego. St. Louis.
But not LA. I think the NFL would rather have a taxpayer-funded stadium in Omaha than a privately-funded one in LA (even with the very elastic definition of “private.”)
Stan & Spanos- Ingleweed.
Mark & Jeb – Santa Clara
“I’m surprised Goodell would be opposed to 2 stadiums if they’re privately funded. ”
I’m not. Goodell’s nightmare is having 2 to 3 teams oversaturate his blackmail city & 2 to 3 teams leaving markets open – or having a team in LA at all. I think Goodell realistically knows getting a team in London is still probably 20 to 30 years away (if ever) so he wants to keep US cities sweating to build new stadiums. Goodell is pure evil.
“Mark & Jeb – Santa Clara”
Would you really want to share a building with the Raiders & their fans stinking it up? If I was York, I wouldn’t put a single spot of black & silver anywhere in that stadium. After all they are competitors in the same market.
@mp34 – blackmail won’t be a problem unless only the Raiders move. Else San Diego and St. Louis will be the new Los Angeles. Any there is always London.
Oh quit worrying about it. London is lined up to be the new L.A. if we ever do more than a vapor-tecture build out there, lol.
As for which owner(s) get the L.A. pot of gold, well I’ve said for years that the rest of us Club of 32er’s are going to wet our beaks, mafia-style if and when it happens.
Really, I don’t see how even Stan Walmart Kroenke can afford it all and if there is a football market in L.A. it’s the working class proles who can’t afford 200 buck a seat football tickets anyway, but hey, what do I know. I’m just a humble NFL owner and thanks to L.A. I already have a gilded football palace rising in my town so I don’t much care who goes where!