Mr. Roski, You’re Trying to Seduce Me: Another NFL Plan for Los Angeles
By Brian Kamenetzky | NFL, What I See, Column
Football, it’s back!
Sort of.
Billionaire developer Ed Roski, who already has a quiet hand in LA sports as a shareholder of the Lakers and Kings, revealed Thursday some swanky new plans to build an NFL caliber stadium in the City of Industry, 75,000 seats large. Take a look at the pics (above, and at the stadium’s new website) and specs, and it indeed looks really impressive. Exactly the sort of place to take in a game on Sunday (or attend a movie, take in a live show, or eat in any of the 162,000 square feet of restaurant space that will be built as part of the project). Built into a hillside, the $800 million structure would be funded entirely without taxpayer money, and would use the existing topography to both save cash (less steel) and present a pretty cool picture architecturally speaking.
They could start digging in the fall and be ready to open by 2011. All they need is a tenant.
Therein lies the rub. Roski, because he’s not totally insane, says he won’t break ground until a team commits to playing in Los Angeles. Since an expansion team isn’t an option, he’ll have to lure one into his proverbial boudoir, Anne Bancroft style. Writes the AP:
The NFL has said it has no plans to expand from its present 32 teams, and it’s also clear Los Angeles is not a high priority with the league at this time. But that might not stop a team with stadium uncertainties to make the move.
“No team is going to say they’re going to come here until we have this,” Roski said of the stadium plan. “We have not talked to any teams. Now, we will start the second phase of it. We’ll start talking to the NFL and the teams. We’ve got this out of the way. Now, we’ll concentrate on getting a team.”
With a smile, the 69-year-old chairman and CEO of Majestic Realty Co. added: “If I was sitting there, I would be waiting for my call. This is the top market. The team that decides to come to Los Angeles is financially going to be one of the top teams in the league, by far.”
They list San Diego, Jacksonville, Minnesota, and New Orleans (cross them off, since from a PR standpoint the NFL can’t let that happen) as possible defectors to the hypothetical new digs southwest of downtown.
Perhaps the Roski plan will give the owners of those franchises more leverage in negotiating for new stadiums, and I’m sure they’ll all take a peek at what’s going on out here, but if it requires either a major push from the NFL or a groundswell of support locally, LA could be without a team for a while. It’s pretty clear the league no longer has the city on it’s priority list, and as for the latter? Hey, we love our football, and I’m sure the team would sell out…
…but on the other hand, everyone seems to have adjusted to life without the NFL, too. Not that it wouldn’t be a really cool addition, but the city doesn’t need Sunday gridiron. Plus, we’ve seen this sort of thing before. Writes Sam Farmer of the LA Times:
This process has had so many fits and starts, so many set-ups and letdowns, every new proposal starts sounding like a punch line.
Roski calls it “deal fatigue,” and he concedes there’s a lot of it — among the NFL owners, executives, media and fans. Not another NFL proposal.
And there are other issues, as well, notes Farmer:
And remember, this is a terrible time to finance this type of deal. Two years ago, the league thought an L.A. stadium would be too expensive, and that was when the interest rates and banking relationships were far more favorable.
Now, the New York Giants and Jets, and Dallas Cowboys have to shell out substantially more money than they planned for their new stadiums, in part because of the implosion of the short-term debt market. Even the New
England Patriots, one of the richest franchises in sports, have run into problems on the financial aspects of their stadium debt.
Maybe I’m just skeptical. A big cynic, unwilling to dream big. Yes, NFL franchises do move. Growing up in St. Louis, I was burned by one as a kid. Whatever. I’d like to see a team here, if for no other reason than covering football is a lot of fun. But big a fan as I am of the NFL, like the city at large I’m doing just fine without a local squad.
Even if things go well for Plan Roski, it’ll likely be a few years before any of this starts to play out. Call it “deal fatigue,” or anything else. At this point, I’m in full “believe it when I see it” mode when it comes to Sunday football in LA, and right now, I’m not seeing anything.
Brian Kamenetzky hosts the Lakers Blog and Blue Notes: A Dodgers Blog for the LA Times.com. He’s a contributing writer to ESPN The Magazine and ESPN.com, and can be heard regularly on the Steve Mason Show, on 710 ESPN radio in LA. Write him at bk@sportshubla.com.
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The Los Angeles Saints? That alone is worth moving New Orleans here.
I’m all for the stadium. I have a feeling Al Davis is checking this bad-boy out. 2011 his lease ends and I have a feeling he’s going to bolt for Los Angeles again. Here’s the other thing, if Minnesota doesn’t get its act together, they’ll bolt to Los Angeles too. But I highly doubt that and now City Officials there will have to build them a new stadium (they can’t lose the rich tradition and rivalries from the NFC North). The Jaguars will have to see how they do this year after a successful playoff run. The Chargers are a dark-horse, because Chula Vista can’t find the money to build a stadium since they’re committed to the new Convention Center. So in the end, I expect the Chargers and Raiders to make the move with the Cardinals, Seahawks, Rams (In that order) switching with Chargers for division relocation. The Spanos’ are good friends with Roski.
I checked out the website & saw the very elaborate presentation & it gave me goose bumps..The music, the fireworks & the aerial shots are awesome…Then I remembered people in LA don’t really care about the NFL. Love the ideas coming from planet Roski, but don’t see it happening.