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The NBA is returning to Brooklyn, Seattle's City Council just approved a plan for a new sports arena to bring both the NBA and NHL back in town, and now, Los Angeles is set to finally see the return of an NFL team.
According to ESPN.com, the Los Angeles City Council unanimously approved plans to build a $1.5 billion football stadium downtown on Friday (September 2
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. With the deal approved, there's a 30-day window for legal challenges. If everything goes according to plan, builders could break ground on Farmers Field by March 2013.However, there's one step left: convincing an NFL team (or two) to move out west.
"We're not trying to steal a franchise and we're not trying to force them to move before they make a decision to move. That's up to the individual owners out there today. But we will be very active in letting them know, despite what a lot of people thought, we have a deal with the city, we've gone through this process and we are shovel-ready" -- Tim Leiweke, CEO of Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG)Despite how enticing a move to L.A. could be for an NFL franchise, Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) CEO Tim Leiweke says they're not out to steal any team. The city hasn't had an NFL franchise since 1994, when both the Rams and the Raiders left town.
"We're not trying to steal a franchise and we're not trying to force them to move before they make a decision to move," Leiweke said. "That's up to the individual owners out there today. But we will be very active in letting them know, despite what a lot of people thought, we have a deal with the city, we've gone through this process and we are shovel-ready."
AEG is the company behind the project. However, it's up on the auction block... and billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong -- who was in attendance during the council meeting at city hall Friday -- is expected to make a strong bid to purchase AEG.
The impending sale of the company had previously emerged as a potential stumbling block to the stadium proposal, but Leiweke said it was not a coincidence that Soon-Shiong attended Friday's vote, which went 12-0 in AEG's favor.
"He has made it very clear to everyone he's interested in AEG and he's interested in the NFL," Leiweke said. "When I talk about the kind of people we are talking to now, who will buy this company from Philip Anschutz, I am extremely confident that everyone is going to feel very good about the kind of ownership group we're going to put together."
Farmers Field could take about four years to actually be built, but an NFL team could move to Los Angeles before then and play in one of the existing stadiums in the city ... until theirs is completed. A team could play at the L.A. Coliseum or the Rose Bowl, perhaps.
ESPN.com says NFL commissioner Roger Goodell sent a memo to all 32 teams in July stating that any franchise interested in relocating for the 2013 season must apply between Jan. 1 and Feb. 15 of that year. A franchise also must prove it has exhausted all attempts to remain in its current location.
The sale of AEG is estimated to fetch $6 billion to $8 billion -- it owns the Los Angeles Kings, reigning MLS Cup champion Los Angeles Galaxy. and a 30% stake in the Lakers. It also owns and operates the Staples Center (home to the Kings, Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers and Los Angeles Sparks) and the Home Depot Center (home to the Galaxy and Chivas USA of MLS).
