For many years, the University of Southern California (USC) football team was the closest thing Los Angeles had to a professional team. Now, with the Trojans being stripped of the 2004 National Championship, and still ineligible for a Bowl game for one more season, Angelinos are more thirsty than ever for an NFL franchise.
The city of Los Angeles, which holds the second largest television market in the nation, has been without a professional football team for 16 years. Since the Raiders and Rams left in 1995, there have been many efforts to bring an NFL team back to the region, but none have been more promising than the current Downtown stadium proposal.
The Downtown L.A. stadium proposal has received support from residents, politicians, and other public figures, who cite the potential for job creations, and the strengthening of the city center as reasons to fight for the new construction. According to Tim Leiweke, President and CEO of Anschutz Entertainment Group, the developers of the stadium, the Raiders, Chargers, Vikings, Rams and Jaguars are all “in the mix” in becoming the tenants of the massive structure. The proposed stadium would be set near Staples Center, L.A. Live and the Convention Center, adjacent to the 110 Freeway.
Many Angelinos, who remain Oakland Raider fans, years after the team fled back to Northern California will be happy to know that ESPN regards the team as one of the two most viable options to make a move to the City of Angels. The other team that the ESPN analysts ruled as a realistic possibility is the other California team in the mix, the San Diego Chargers. According to the information available, it seems that the Raiders and Chargers have the most flexibility in terms of stadium contracts and location.
With developer Ed Roski proposing another stadium in the City of Industry, it is not out of the question that the region could end up with two teams in the not-so-distant future. No public statements have been made by any of the teams in question regarding a move to L.A., however. So for now, local football fans will have to wait for new developments, and hope that the 2011-12 season survives the current labor dispute.
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