[Elvis]

http://www.latimes.com/sports/nfl/la-sp ... story.html

NFL in L.A.? Here are some predictions for the next few months



The next few months are crucial for the NFL.

With St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke proposing a stadium in Inglewood, and the owners of the San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders backing a competing project in Carson, the stars are aligned for something to happen. The league could be on the verge of solving a 20-year riddle and returning to Los Angeles.

Then again, this could all fall apart just like every other plan.

Some predictions about what we will see unfold in the next several months as it relates to the NFL in L.A.:

Prediction: There won't be any major developments coming out of the Aug. 11 NFL owners meeting in Chicago.

Roger Goodell has informed clubs there won't be any votes at this meeting. So it's not as if we'll get a strong indication which way the owners are leaning. They'll probably emerge with comments that are generic and familiar, such as, "It's encouraging that we have two viable options in Los Angeles," and, "We're closer to returning than we've ever been, but there's a lot of work to be done."

On Aug. 10, representatives from the cities of San Diego and St. Louis will make presentations to the NFL's committee on L.A. opportunities. This will be the first time most owners will hear full presentations on the two proposals.

Eventually, the league will compress and move up (to the fall) the window for teams to file relocation applications, but that's unlikely to happen at the August meetings. Currently, that six-week window opens on Jan. 1, but that doesn't give a relocating team much time to set up shop in its new city.

The league will get a lot of the necessary background work done before teams formally announce they plan to leave their current markets. On the L.A. committee are the chairmen of the NFL's stadium, finance, labor and broadcast committees, so those committees will be kept up to speed on what's happening.

Prediction: The focus of October meetings in New York will be the home markets, but owners will only hear from two of those three cities.

St. Louis and San Diego have put together serious proposals — although the Rams and Chargers aren't impressed. But Oakland is lagging in a big way, so much so that representatives from that city likely won't even be invited to New York for the meetings.

If the league does invite Oakland, it will be so that owners can see what little progress that city has made.

Prediction: The NFL will have signed leases with one or two temporary stadiums by the end of the year, and the Coliseum will be one of those.

The Rose Bowl bowed out of the interim stadium derby, but the Coliseum is still in play. The NFL shouldn't have much trouble striking a deal there, as the Chargers quietly got far down the road in negotiations with that venue last year.

The Coliseum could be a two-year home for either the Rams or the Chargers, but USC would probably object to bringing back the Raiders.

If the league only signs a lease with the Coliseum — and doesn't secure one with StubHub Center, Dodger Stadium or Angels Stadium — that's not a guarantee that it's the Rams who will move. The league has spitballed various scenarios in which two teams move, but there's only one temporary stadium available in L.A. Those scenarios include the Raiders staying in Oakland for two more seasons while an L.A. stadium is built, or the Chargers staying in San Diego and possibly playing two games per season in London.

Prediction: The NFL will begin counting potential L.A. season-ticket holders this fall.

Want season tickets to an L.A. NFL team? The line starts here.

Watch for the league to begin building a priority list of potential customers, possibly by taking refundable deposits on season tickets — even when it's unknown which team(s) would move and where the stadium would be. That could mean plunking down, say, $100 to get in line for low-end season tickets, and more for club seats and suites.

There's a debate in the league about whether there should be a fee for getting on that priority list, but the NFL is leaning toward charging one to find the fans who are truly interested. Once the team(s) and site are determined, the people on the list could either get their money back or apply it to season tickets.

Prediction: In the coming months, the NFL will assume a much higher profile in San Diego, St. Louis and Oakland.

Watch for league staff to host public meetings and solicit public comment in those cities, talking to business leaders and everyday fans, not just politicians. Those won't necessarily be pleasant affairs, but they're a necessary step in understanding the full picture and giving everyone a voice.

Prediction: A showdown pitting Kroenke versus the Chargers' Dean Spanos and Raiders' Mark Davis? This process will never come down to a vote for all the marbles.

Think of L.A. as a game of musical chairs, with three participants and a maximum of two chairs. The worst-case scenario for the league would be to have one of those three teams lose a vote and be forced to return to a city it tried to leave.

Watch for the NFL to manage the process so that the tough choices are made before anything goes to a vote. This isn't like awarding a Super Bowl to one city over another. Over the next few months, the league will be able to tease out the clear preferences of the ownership — all before the three teams actually apply for relocation — then proceed accordingly.

That could mean the league goes to one or more of the owners and says, "Look, you're not going to have the required support to do this. It's best for everyone involved if you stand down, but we will help you in the following ways…"

This process probably will wind up with a grand bargain.

From the league's perspective, that beats a battle royal.

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Twitter: @LATimesfarmer

[The Ripper]

The Raiders shut out from a temp stadium and having to stay in Oakland will kill the already impossible task of building corporate support. If it's 2 teams that are approved both will come at the same time or they will approve only one initially and the other will stay to work on the proposed stadium in hopes of it coming together. It's insane for 2 teams to suddenly come into a market that hasn't had a team in 20 years. I can't see the Angels agreeing to share a stadium and AEG already has issues with Carson so that could be an issue. That leaves Dodger Stadium and after the issues a few years ago, I can't see them allowing the Raiders in.

[bubbaramfan]

Don't count out the Stub Hub Center. That 27,000 capacity is for soccer. In the pro football configuration, because the field is smaller, they can add end zone grandstands, and bleachers along the sidelines. They've don this before for high school playoff (last yeas CIF championship), and Charger pre-season games, bringing the seating to 41,000.
Is 41,000 acceptable for 2 or 3 years while waiting for a stadium to be built? I guess that's up to the team wanting to relocate. I've been there for football (Carson Colts) and its way better than the colesium as far as fans go.

[TSFH Fan]

Don't count out the Stub Hub Center. That 27,000 capacity is for soccer. In the pro football configuration, because the field is smaller, they can add end zone grandstands, and bleachers along the sidelines. They've don this before for high school playoff (last yeas CIF championship), and Charger pre-season games, bringing the seating to 41,000.
Is 41,000 acceptable for 2 or 3 years while waiting for a stadium to be built? I guess that's up to the team wanting to relocate. I've been there for football (Carson Colts) and its way better than the colesium as far as fans go.

Based on the website and a seating chart (because I've never been to the SHC), I think another thing that could help StubHub is that it has those 43 luxury suites and the American Express Stadium Club. Those are great resources to extract cash out of high net worth entities (fans/businesses/companies).

I see that the Coliseum has 10 add on suites at field level, Angel Stadium has 78 suites, and Dodger Stadium, back in 2010, before recent renovations, had 68 luxury suites (and Rose Bowl 54). SHC's 43 seems to be an ok number and it's a newer facility.

So, I'll buy the idea that SHC is a possibility, for now.

[BuiltRamTough]

Don't count out the Stub Hub Center. That 27,000 capacity is for soccer. In the pro football configuration, because the field is smaller, they can add end zone grandstands, and bleachers along the sidelines. They've don this before for high school playoff (last yeas CIF championship), and Charger pre-season games, bringing the seating to 41,000.
Is 41,000 acceptable for 2 or 3 years while waiting for a stadium to be built? I guess that's up to the team wanting to relocate. I've been there for football (Carson Colts) and its way better than the colesium as far as fans go.

41,000 is still low.
They could sell out an 80,000 seat stadium, they just have to have affordable ticket prices.

I'm going to stay consistent, I still think it's 1 team only in 2016. 2017 and beyond I don't know.

[max]

It makes no sense that only the Chargers or the Raiders move to LA, while the other team remains in their existing city.

Imagine the Chargers remaining in SD for 3 years while Carson is being built. Totally ridiculous.

[BuiltRamTough]

It makes no sense that only the Chargers or the Raiders move to LA, while the other team remains in their existing city.

Imagine the Chargers remaining in SD for 3 years while Carson is being built. Totally ridiculous.

Exactly! Common sense tells you that it can't be. Everyone's worried about having a lame duck season but hey let's keep a team in its market till the new stadium in a different market is is built.

[The Ripper]

Don't count out the Stub Hub Center. That 27,000 capacity is for soccer. In the pro football configuration, because the field is smaller, they can add end zone grandstands, and bleachers along the sidelines. They've don this before for high school playoff (last yeas CIF championship), and Charger pre-season games, bringing the seating to 41,000.
Is 41,000 acceptable for 2 or 3 years while waiting for a stadium to be built? I guess that's up to the team wanting to relocate. I've been there for football (Carson Colts) and its way better than the colesium as far as fans go.

I think StubHub would be a good venue but the issue is that AEG already has issues with the Carson stadium so unless there's some form of guarantee that AEG will have an ongoing working relationship with the NFL or get a team in the future they could block the teams from the Carson Stadium

[Elvis]

[Hacksaw]

So StL (DP) has already spoken to the league? Not a peep about it either. Or is Farmer referring to the last meetings?
I've read that RG and Peecock are tight so what could be going on? Does StL already have a viable plan and pitched it? If so, why the cloak and dagger? I wonder if the league will/does consider StL's pitch a viable one?