NFL in Los Angeles
Encyclopedia
Professional American football
, especially its established top level, the National Football League
, has had a long history in Los Angeles
, the center of the second-largest media market
in the United States. Since 1995, Los Angeles has been by far the largest U.S. market without an NFL team. It is currently more than double the size as the only other North American market to get serious consideration for a team, Toronto, which is in turn more than double the size of any other non-NFL market. The NFL and other professional leagues have had multiple teams in Los Angeles between 1946 and 1994, all of which originally played home games in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
. The nearest team for the area is the Chargers
that are located in San Diego.
In 1946, the Los Angeles Dons
of the All-America Football Conference
started play, lasting four years before folding with the demise of the AAFC. Also in 1946, the Cleveland Rams
became the first National Football League
(NFL) franchise to locate in Los Angeles. The Rams moved to Anaheim Stadium
for 1980, and left southern California altogether in 1995 for St. Louis. The AFL founded the Los Angeles Chargers
in 1960, who subsequently moved to San Diego the following year. The Oakland Raiders
moved to Los Angeles in 1982, only to return to Oakland after the 1994 season. There were problems with the filling all of the 90,000-plus seats in the Coliseum to avoid a television blackout in the Los Angeles area.
The lack of an NFL team in Los Angeles is an issue the league and the city have been working on to resolve since the Raiders left. One key sticking point had been whether the Coliseum should be the primary venue for a new team, or whether a lower capacity NFL-specific stadium should be built in the area. In November 2007, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa
declared that the policy of requiring the NFL to relocate to the Coliseum will change and other options will be explored.
There have been other professional football teams in the city, including PCPFL
teams during World War II, XFL
, AFL, USFL
, and WFL
.
On August 9, 2011, the LA City Council approved a proposal to Build Farmers Field
in a 12-0 vote. The new stadium will enable an NFL team to move to Los Angeles. The stadium will be located in Downtown Los Angeles
as part of the LA Live complex and is expected to be completed by 2016.
in . However, this was a road team, based in Chicago
, made up of Californians, primarily University of California
and University of Southern California alumni. The historian Michael McCambridge says that the Buccaneers became a road team because the Los Angeles Coliseum Commission
had banned pro teams from its stadium. However, the difficulty of transcontinental travel in the era before modern air travel must have also been a factor in the decision to base the team in the Midwest. The upstart American Football League
also featured a similar Midwest-based road team of West Coast players, the Los Angeles Wildcats
. Both Los Angeles teams performed respectably on the field but folded after the 1926 season. Ironically, the Wildcats' last game was an exhibition in San Francisco against the Buccaneers in January 1927.
The first major professional football team to actually reside in Los Angeles was the Los Angeles Bulldogs
, who operated both as an independent and as a member of several other leagues from approximately 1934 to 1948, in its later years reduced to minor status. The NFL had actually admitted the Bulldogs to the league for the 1937 NFL season
, but reneged on the agreement because of travel concerns (the great distance between the Bulldogs and every other team, plus having to cross the Rocky Mountains
in an era when travel by airplane was still a rare and hazardous endeavor, proved to be too much of a risk for the NFL to be willing to take).
) in Los Angeles. L.A.'s Wrigley Field
hosted the first All-Star Game after the 1938 season. Gilmore Stadium
in Los Angeles hosted the 1939 and 1940 All-Star Games following the respective NFL seasons.
The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
was the site of the Pro Bowl from 1950 through 1972. The 1979 Pro Bowl was also held at the Coliseum. In 1980, the Pro Bowl moved to Aloha Stadium
on the island of Oahu in Hawaii, where it has been held ever since except in 2010.
The first Super Bowl
, known as the AFL-NFL World Championship Game, and later Super Bowl I
was played at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in 1967. The Coliseum also hosted Super Bowl VII
.
The Rose Bowl
in Pasadena
also has hosted Super Bowls XI, XIV, XVII, XXI, and XXVII.
moved to Los Angeles. The other league owners were not pleased with the move, but the league relented due in large part to concern that Los Angeles could potentially become the nucleus of a rival league. The Rams played home games at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
, which had originally been built to host the 1932 Summer Olympic Games
and which was also the home of the USC Trojans and the UCLA Bruins
. The Rams made history their first season in 1946, when they signed the NFL's first African-American players
since the early 1930s: former UCLA
stars Kenny Washington
and Woody Strode
.
Also in 1946, the upstart All-America Football Conference
began play: the AAFC's Los Angeles Dons
also played at the Coliseum. When the AAFC folded in 1950, the Dons went out of business, but the AAFC's San Francisco 49ers
were admitted to the NFL. This provided the NFL with a workable pair of West Coast cities for travel.
Another AAFC franchise which moved over to the NFL was the Cleveland Browns
, who were based in the city the Rams had deserted. The Browns and the Rams met in the 1950 NFL Championship game: the Browns won the game 30–28.
The Rams quickly became established as an NFL power, with top quarterbacks like Roman Gabriel
and the legendary Fearsome Foursome
defensive line of the 1960s.
that year. However, they had long been dissatisfied with the L.A. Coliseum, due to its size (the cavernous venue sold out very infrequently, causing blackouts of Rams games on local TV), its location (in South Central Los Angeles
, perceived to be one of the city's more dangerous neighborhoods), and its lack of nearby parking. At various times they shared the stadium with both the USC Trojans and UCLA Bruins football
teams. Ownership (Carroll Rosenbloom
, followed by his widow Georgia Frontiere
) was unable to persuade the city to build a new stadium in Los Angeles, so they decided to move out of the Coliseum to Anaheim
(28 miles southeast of downtown L.A.) in Orange County
, which was then experiencing an enormous boom in population and construction.
Beginning in 1980, the Rams played in Anaheim Stadium
, which already had a football press box built into the upper deck when it opened in 1966. Further renovations included enclosing the facility by extending the stadium's three decks (the baseball outfield area had previously been open to the outside), and building luxury suites in the mezzanine
"club" level.
Three teams had previously played home games in Anaheim Stadium prior to the Rams' move: the Southern California Sun
of the World Football League
and the now-defunct football programs at Cal State Fullerton
and Long Beach State
. During the Rams' stay in Anaheim, they were the stadium's sole football tenant and shared it with the California Angels
baseball team.
began to shop around for a new home for her team, which was falling behind other NFL teams in luxury-box and other non-shared revenue. By the end of the season, talks had begun with St. Louis
and Baltimore
; meanwhile, she was hoping that Anaheim and/or Orange County
would also make an attractive offer. Anaheim, going through a recession, could not agree on a tax package to pay for the improvements that Frontiere insisted on, so they dropped out of the bidding. Rams fans, bothered by Frontiere talking to other cities about moving the franchise, voiced their anger by asking for her to sell the team, booing her and starting derogatory chants at games directed at her. Attendance began dwindling, due to frustration by the fans over ownership and the performance by the team on the field. Eventually, St. Louis gave Frontiere the offer she wanted, a brand-new $280 million domed stadium called the "Trans World Dome" (currently the Edward Jones Dome
) with a long-term lease and over 100 luxury boxes. The move was announced in February 1995 and approved by NFL owners that April. The Rams played their last game as the Los Angeles Rams on Christmas Eve 1994, losing 24–21 to the Washington Redskins
in front of only 25,750 fans in attendance at Anaheim Stadium. During the 2009 off season, following Frontiere's death, it was announced the Rams were for sale. It was considered possible that the next owner of the Rams could potentially move the team back to Los Angeles; however, this prospect became much less likely when then-minority owner Stan Kroenke, a Missouri native and resident, acquired complete control in August 2010.
moved to Los Angeles to become the Los Angeles Raiders. Team owner Al Davis
relocated there without the approval of his fellow owners or NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle
. One major factor for Davis in moving to the Coliseum despite its flaws as a football stadium was his assumption that the NFL would eventually approve pay-per-view
telecasts for its games; such a move would potentially have given the Raiders a virtual TV monopoly in Los Angeles, the nation's second-largest TV market. Davis also counted on being able to persuade the Los Angeles Coliseum Commission to renovate the facility, particularly by installing scores of luxury box
es.
The Raiders continued the success they had in Oakland after the move south, winning Super Bowl XVIII
in January 1984 and reaching the AFC Championship Game
after the season. But the team gained a controversial reputation off the field, as its silver and black colors became associated with L.A.'s notorious street gangs. More importantly, the Los Angeles Coliseum Commission never gave Davis the lucrative package of amenities he had been promised, and the NFL's broadcast contracts never instituted pay-per-view. Davis entertained an offer from Irwindale, California
(east of downtown L.A.) in , but did not move there.
Prior to 1993, the Coliseum Commission approved multiple changes to enhance the stadium as a football facility: Capacity was reduced, the field was lowered, the surrounding running track was removed, bleachers were replaced by single seats, and locker rooms and fan restrooms were upgraded.
The Coliseum briefly fielded another professional football team, the Los Angeles Express of the United States Football League, from 1983 to 1985. The league played in the springtime, avoiding stadium conflicts with the NFL and the Raiders.
, Al Davis gave up on Los Angeles, and decided to accept a new stadium renovation offer from Oakland, California
and to return to his team's former home. The renovation expanded the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum to 63,000 seats and added 86 luxury boxes and thousands of club seats. The deal was announced on June 23, and approved by league owners on August 9 of that year. The Raiders, like the Rams, played their last game in L.A. on Christmas Eve 1994, losing 19–9 to the Kansas City Chiefs
in front of 64,130 in attendance at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
(AFL) was formed. The now-San Diego Chargers
played their first season in Los Angeles, but moved to San Diego in 1961.
, the Cincinnati Bengals
, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
, and the Seattle Seahawks
. However, the Browns
moved to become the Baltimore Ravens
in amid major controversy
, and a new Browns team occupied a new stadium
in . The Bengals, Buccaneers and Seahawks, meanwhile, used L.A.'s vacancy as leverage to convince their cities to help finance new stadiums.
Other developments have included:
). Those games were blacked out
in accord with the NFL's "72-hour rule." The Raiders have since struggled to sell out games in Oakland while the Rams were able to get a deal to return to owner Georgia Frontiere's hometown of St. Louis where they were guaranteed sellout revenues. However, since about 2006 the Rams have been struggling to sell out games in St. Louis. Before his death, Raiders owner Al Davis grew frustrated with Oakland city officials for allegedly duping them into packing their bags in 1994 and sued the city multiple times. He also claimed that the NFL had interfered with his negotiations to build a new stadium in Hollywood Park and subsequently forced the Raiders to take Oakland's offer in a lawsuit that was just recently settled in favor of the league. Davis still stated that the rights to the L.A. market belonged to him and had tried to interfere with attempts to put a new team there by lamenting his desire to still play there and that if he did not that he should have been compensated for the fee the league charged him when he moved there.
championed a new football stadium in Anaheim in tandem with a new L.A. Coliseum. There are reports, however, that NFL owners will not approve a return to the L.A. area until two teams commit to play in a single new stadium (similar to the New York Giants
and New York Jets
, first in Giants Stadium
and from 2010 in the New Meadowlands Stadium
). Due to worldwide increases in the prices of steel, concrete and fuel some cost estimates for new stadiums have exceeded $1 billion. As a result, it will be difficult for the league to privately finance one stadium, let alone two. In response to rising cost estimates for a new stadium, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has said that returning the NFL to Los Angeles will require the league to consider unspecified "alternative solutions."
The National Football League is not planning on expanding, so one or more teams would have to relocate to justify any new stadium projects. The three teams which used to play in Los Angeles but moved elsewhere (the San Diego Chargers
, St. Louis Rams
and Oakland Raiders
) have all been rumored to be open to moving back. Four other teams— Buffalo Bills
, Jacksonville Jaguars
, Minnesota Vikings
, and the San Francisco 49ers
— have also been identified as possible prime tenants of a new stadium.
Near the end of the 2010 season, two of those seven teams suffered severe problems with their current facilities. The roof of the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
in Minneapolis collapsed after record-breaking snowfall in December 2010, forcing the Minnesota Vikings
to play their last two home games elsewhere. The first game was delayed one day and was moved to Ford Field
in Detroit. The second one was played as scheduled in Minneapolis on Monday Night Football
, but it was moved across town to the University of Minnesota
. Also in December 2010, Qualcomm Stadium
in San Diego flooded, although no Chargers
home games were moved or delayed as a result.
Other than Los Angeles, the NFL has returned to every city it vacated in the modern era (Oakland
, Baltimore
, St. Louis, Cleveland and Houston). The 2009 NFL season
was L.A.'s 15th year with no franchise, thus eclipsing Oakland for the longest duration in the modern era that a former NFL city has lacked a franchise (17 years as of the 2011 NFL Season
).
In an open letter on its labor blog, the NFL and Commissioner Roger Goodell brought up Los Angeles first when writing about the need to finance and construct new stadiums with a new collective bargaining agreement. There has been talk of bringing two expansion teams to Los Angeles after a new collective bargaining agreement is achieved.
in Chicago. This stadium is supported by California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
and the Los Angeles City Council
approved a preliminary financing plan and environmental impact report in 2006. But the Exposition Park
area still carries safety concerns among some fans.
In October 2006, a new doubt was cast over the Coliseum's future as a possible venue, as reports surfaced that the Coliseum Commission was negotiating to hand over control of the stadium to USC, which could preclude any plans to renovate the stadium for the NFL. Pat Lynch, the Coliseum's general manager, claimed in a panel discussion in December 2006 that the true cost of a new Coliseum would be closer to $650 million. In December 2007, talks between USC and the Coliseum Commission broke down and the USC Athlectic department made public their threat to leave. In February 2008 the Coliseum Commission and USC came to a tentative agreement that would keep USC Trojans football in place for the next 25 years with an option for a total of 47 years. The agreement would require the Commission to pay for upgrades including replacement of the seats, field, drainage system, and the fence around the stadium. In addition to the basic improvements the deal would see upgrades to the sound and lighting systems, new elevators and escalators, new videoboards and scoreboards, new restrooms and concession areas. In return, USC will agree to pay the equivalent of 8% of all gross ticket sales for home games and 50% of all game day expenses that the stadium incurs. In addition, USC will pay the Commission 8% of all revenue from television broadcasts from games where fewer than 70,000 people are in attendance. The deal also includes a right of consent for USC for any amateur or professional team seeking permission to play in the Coliseum. The Commission and the Trojans will cooperate to find a naming-rights sponsor for the Coliseum. USC will also receive a seat on the Coliseum Commission for as long as the school remains at the stadium.
). Those stadiums, as well as the Honda Center (formerly Arrowhead Pond), apartments, shops, and restaurants, would be part of a "Platinum Triangle
" development.
, on a site bordered by Interstates 110 and 405. The stadium and team would have been owned by Hollywood executive Michael Ovitz
. But the site is full of toxins and other environmental problems, and eventually for that reason, as well as a failure of Carson to approve a financing plan, it was abandoned. The latest plans are to build The Boulevards at South Bay (formerly Avalon at South Bay and Carson Marketplace), a mixed-use development
which will include homes, apartments, a 200-room hotel, and a retail power center. Construction is contingent on an extensive cleanup of the site, which as of spring 2009 was continuing. Developers hope to open at least part of the site in 2011. Carson does have a sports complex, The Home Depot Center
, on the campus of California State University, Dominguez Hills
.
parking lot has been discussed by NFL owners, in private, as possibly being the best site in Southern California to build a new professional football stadium. Officials with the Dodgers
and the NFL met in secret twice in 2005 to discuss the possibility of constructing a stadium and retail complex adjacent to Dodger Stadium. After the Boston Herald
reported the details of the plan, political pressure forced both the NFL and McCourts to deny that either party was aggressively pursuing the idea.
, a part-owner of the Los Angeles Lakers
and Los Angeles Kings
, has announced plans for a new stadium on the northern side of the interchange of State Routes 57
and 60
(almost 22 miles (35.4 km) east of downtown LA) with the purpose of attracting a team to the Los Angeles region. Roski, who built the Staples Center
, stated that the new 75,000 seat stadium, which is part of a 600 acre
entertainment and retail project, would all be privately financed and would be the centerpiece of a new entertainment complex in the City of Industry
. Five teams have been mention as potential candidates for relocation: former Los Angeles teams San Diego Chargers, St. Louis Rams, and Oakland Raiders, plus Minnesota Vikings. The Buffalo Bills, Jacksonville Jaguars and San Francisco 49ers are no longer a candidate for relocation. The project is cleared to begin construction though it is waiting on the negotiations of the NFL's commitment to relocate a team (or possibility two) to Los Angeles
.
and Tim Leiweke
have investigated the probability of building a 72,000-seat stadium behind Staples Center
, where the West Hall of the Los Angeles Convention Center now sits. In December Leiweke set a deadline anticipating a cleared negotiation with Los Angeles over control of the current convention center and ownership of the land and an agreement with the NFL over the likelihood of a team moving to Los Angeles. AEG owner Philip Anschutz
currently is not in support of the project. Anschutz has discussed with five teams: former Los Angeles teams San Diego Chargers, St. Louis Rams, and Oakland Raiders, plus Minnesota Vikings. The Buffalo Bills, Jacksonville Jaguars and San Francisco 49ers are no longer candidates for relocation. On August 9, 2011, the LA City Council approved plans to build Farmers Field in a 12-0 vote. The stadium will become home to an NFL team and is expected to open in 2016.
episode "Buzzed", the fictional Hollywood agent Ari Gold is offered to run an NFL franchise in Los Angeles after he impresses the NFL board, but fails to win the contract to sell the NFL media rights.
In the 1984 film Against All Odds Jeff Bridges' character plays for a fictional team, the L.A. Outlaws.
In the 1991 action film The Last Boy Scout
revolves around a fictional team, the L.A. Stallions.
In the 1978 film Heaven Can Wait
, Warren Beatty
is the quarterback of the Los Angeles Rams.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
, especially its established top level, the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
, has had a long history in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, the center of the second-largest media market
Media market
A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area , Television Market Area , or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same television and radio station offerings, and may also include other types of media including newspapers and Internet content...
in the United States. Since 1995, Los Angeles has been by far the largest U.S. market without an NFL team. It is currently more than double the size as the only other North American market to get serious consideration for a team, Toronto, which is in turn more than double the size of any other non-NFL market. The NFL and other professional leagues have had multiple teams in Los Angeles between 1946 and 1994, all of which originally played home games in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is a large outdoor sports stadium in the University Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, at Exposition Park, that is home to the Pacific-12 Conference's University of Southern California Trojans football team...
. The nearest team for the area is the Chargers
San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers are a professional American football team based in San Diego, California. they were members of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
that are located in San Diego.
In 1946, the Los Angeles Dons
Los Angeles Dons
The Los Angeles Dons were an American football team in the now defunct All-America Football Conference from 1946 to 1949 that played in the Los Angeles Coliseum....
of the All-America Football Conference
All-America Football Conference
The All-America Football Conference was a professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League from 1946 to 1949. One of the NFL's most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many of the nation's best players, and introduced many lasting innovations...
started play, lasting four years before folding with the demise of the AAFC. Also in 1946, the Cleveland Rams
St. Louis Rams
The St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Rams have won three NFL Championships .The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland,...
became the first National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
(NFL) franchise to locate in Los Angeles. The Rams moved to Anaheim Stadium
Angel Stadium of Anaheim
Angel Stadium of Anaheim is a modern-style ballpark located in Anaheim, California. It is the home ballpark to Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim of the American League, and was previously home to the NFL's Los Angeles Rams...
for 1980, and left southern California altogether in 1995 for St. Louis. The AFL founded the Los Angeles Chargers
San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers are a professional American football team based in San Diego, California. they were members of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
in 1960, who subsequently moved to San Diego the following year. The Oakland Raiders
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
moved to Los Angeles in 1982, only to return to Oakland after the 1994 season. There were problems with the filling all of the 90,000-plus seats in the Coliseum to avoid a television blackout in the Los Angeles area.
The lack of an NFL team in Los Angeles is an issue the league and the city have been working on to resolve since the Raiders left. One key sticking point had been whether the Coliseum should be the primary venue for a new team, or whether a lower capacity NFL-specific stadium should be built in the area. In November 2007, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa
Antonio Villaraigosa
Antonio Ramón Villaraigosa , born Antonio Ramón Villar, Jr., is the 41st and current Mayor of Los Angeles, California, the third Mexican American to have ever held office in the city of Los Angeles and the first in over 130 years. He is also the current president of the United States Conference of...
declared that the policy of requiring the NFL to relocate to the Coliseum will change and other options will be explored.
There have been other professional football teams in the city, including PCPFL
Pacific Coast Professional Football League
The Pacific Coast Professional Football League , also known as the Pacific Coast Football League and Pacific Coast League was a professional American football league based in California, USA, and competed from 1940 through 1948 in sports...
teams during World War II, XFL
XFL
The XFL was a professional American football league that played for one season in 2001. The league was founded by Vince McMahon, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of WWE...
, AFL, USFL
United States Football League
The United States Football League was an American football league which was in active operation from 1983 to 1987. It played a spring/summer schedule in its first three seasons and a traditional autumn/winter schedule was set to commence before league operations ceased.The USFL was conceived in...
, and WFL
World Football League
The World Football League was a short-lived gridiron football league that played in 1974 and part of 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a worldwide stage, the farthest the WFL reached was placing a team – the Hawaiians – in Honolulu, Hawaii. The...
.
On August 9, 2011, the LA City Council approved a proposal to Build Farmers Field
Farmers Field
Farmers Field is a baseball stadium on the campus of Lewisville High School, in Lewisville, Texas. Named after the schools mascot the "Fighting Farmers." It is located adjacent to the Lewisville High School football field and softball field. It is the home of the Lewisville Fighting Farmers...
in a 12-0 vote. The new stadium will enable an NFL team to move to Los Angeles. The stadium will be located in Downtown Los Angeles
Downtown Los Angeles
Downtown Los Angeles is the central business district of Los Angeles, California, United States, located close to the geographic center of the metropolitan area...
as part of the LA Live complex and is expected to be completed by 2016.
The early years
The first NFL team to name itself after the city of Los Angeles was the Los Angeles BuccaneersLos Angeles Buccaneers
The Los Angeles Buccaneers were a traveling team in the National Football League during their one season 1926, ostensibly representing the city of Los Angeles, California. Like the Los Angeles Wildcats of the first American Football League, the team never actually played a league game in Los...
in . However, this was a road team, based in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, made up of Californians, primarily University of California
California Golden Bears football
The California Golden Bears football team is the college football team of the University of California. The team plays its home games at California Memorial Stadium, however the team played at San Francisco's AT&T Park in 2011 while Memorial Stadium was being renovated, the team will return to...
and University of Southern California alumni. The historian Michael McCambridge says that the Buccaneers became a road team because the Los Angeles Coliseum Commission
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is a large outdoor sports stadium in the University Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, at Exposition Park, that is home to the Pacific-12 Conference's University of Southern California Trojans football team...
had banned pro teams from its stadium. However, the difficulty of transcontinental travel in the era before modern air travel must have also been a factor in the decision to base the team in the Midwest. The upstart American Football League
American Football League (1926)
The first American Football League , sometimes called AFL I, AFLG, or the Grange League, was a professional American football league that operated in 1926. It was the first major competitor to the National Football League. Founded by C. C...
also featured a similar Midwest-based road team of West Coast players, the Los Angeles Wildcats
Los Angeles Wildcats
The Los Angeles Wildcats was a traveling team of the first American Football League that was not based in its nominal home city but in Chicago, Illinois...
. Both Los Angeles teams performed respectably on the field but folded after the 1926 season. Ironically, the Wildcats' last game was an exhibition in San Francisco against the Buccaneers in January 1927.
The first major professional football team to actually reside in Los Angeles was the Los Angeles Bulldogs
Los Angeles Bulldogs
The Los Angeles Bulldogs were a professional American football team that competed from 1936 to 1948...
, who operated both as an independent and as a member of several other leagues from approximately 1934 to 1948, in its later years reduced to minor status. The NFL had actually admitted the Bulldogs to the league for the 1937 NFL season
1937 NFL season
The 1937 NFL season was the 18th regular season of the National Football League. The Cleveland Rams joined the league as an expansion team. Meanwhile, the Redskins relocated from Boston, Massachusetts to Washington, D.C....
, but reneged on the agreement because of travel concerns (the great distance between the Bulldogs and every other team, plus having to cross the Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
in an era when travel by airplane was still a rare and hazardous endeavor, proved to be too much of a risk for the NFL to be willing to take).
The NFL All Star Game/Pro Bowl and Super Bowl in and around Los Angeles
The NFL did play its first league All-Star Games (which later became known as the Pro BowlPro Bowl
In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...
) in Los Angeles. L.A.'s Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field (Los Angeles)
Wrigley Field was a ballpark in Los Angeles, California which served as host to minor league baseball teams in the region for over 30 years, and was the home park for the Los Angeles Angels of the Pacific Coast League as well as a current major league team, the later Los Angeles Angels, in their...
hosted the first All-Star Game after the 1938 season. Gilmore Stadium
Gilmore Stadium
Gilmore Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in Los Angeles, California. It was opened in May 1934 and demolished in 1952, when the land was used to build CBS Television City. The stadium held 18,000. It was located next to Gilmore Field...
in Los Angeles hosted the 1939 and 1940 All-Star Games following the respective NFL seasons.
The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is a large outdoor sports stadium in the University Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, at Exposition Park, that is home to the Pacific-12 Conference's University of Southern California Trojans football team...
was the site of the Pro Bowl from 1950 through 1972. The 1979 Pro Bowl was also held at the Coliseum. In 1980, the Pro Bowl moved to Aloha Stadium
Aloha Stadium
Aloha Stadium is a stadium located in the Halawa CDP, City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. Currently Aloha Stadium is home to the University of Hawaii Warriors football team...
on the island of Oahu in Hawaii, where it has been held ever since except in 2010.
The first Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
, known as the AFL-NFL World Championship Game, and later Super Bowl I
Super Bowl I
The First AFL-NFL World Championship Game in professional American football, later known as Super Bowl I and referred to in some contemporary reports as the Supergame, was played on January 15, 1967 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California.The National Football League ...
was played at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in 1967. The Coliseum also hosted Super Bowl VII
Super Bowl VII
Super Bowl VII was an American football game played on January 14, 1973, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California, to decide the National Football League champion following the 1972 regular season...
.
The Rose Bowl
Rose Bowl (stadium)
The Rose Bowl is an outdoor athletic stadium in Pasadena, California, U.S., in Los Angeles County. The stadium is the site of the annual college football bowl game, the Rose Bowl, held on New Year's Day. In 1982, it became the home field of the UCLA Bruins college football team of the Pac-12...
in Pasadena
Pasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
also has hosted Super Bowls XI, XIV, XVII, XXI, and XXVII.
NFL franchises in Los Angeles 1946–1994
The Rams
In , the defending NFL champions, the Cleveland RamsCleveland Rams
The Cleveland Rams were a professional American football team based in Cleveland, Ohio.The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland, Ohio. The NFL considers the franchise as a second incarnation of the previous Cleveland Rams team that was a charter member of the second American Football League...
moved to Los Angeles. The other league owners were not pleased with the move, but the league relented due in large part to concern that Los Angeles could potentially become the nucleus of a rival league. The Rams played home games at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is a large outdoor sports stadium in the University Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, at Exposition Park, that is home to the Pacific-12 Conference's University of Southern California Trojans football team...
, which had originally been built to host the 1932 Summer Olympic Games
1932 Summer Olympics
The 1932 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the X Olympiad, was a major world wide multi-athletic event which was celebrated in 1932 in Los Angeles, California, United States. No other cities made a bid to host these Olympics. Held during the worldwide Great Depression, many nations...
and which was also the home of the USC Trojans and the UCLA Bruins
UCLA Bruins Football
The UCLA Bruins football program represents the University of California, Los Angeles in college football as members of the Pacific-12 Conference at the NCAA Division I FBS level. The Bruins have enjoyed several periods of success in their history, having been ranked in the top ten of the AP Poll...
. The Rams made history their first season in 1946, when they signed the NFL's first African-American players
Black players in American professional football
Details of the history of black players in American professional football depend on the professional football league considered: the National Football League , which evolved from the first professional league, the American Professional Football Association, or the American Football League, , a...
since the early 1930s: former UCLA
UCLA Bruins Football
The UCLA Bruins football program represents the University of California, Los Angeles in college football as members of the Pacific-12 Conference at the NCAA Division I FBS level. The Bruins have enjoyed several periods of success in their history, having been ranked in the top ten of the AP Poll...
stars Kenny Washington
Kenny Washington (American football)
Kenneth S. "Kingfish" Washington was a professional football player who was the first African-American to sign a contract with a National Football League team in the modern era.-UCLA Bruins:...
and Woody Strode
Woody Strode
Woodrow Wilson Woolwine "Woody" Strode was a decathlete and football star who went on to become a pioneering black American film actor. He was nominated for a Golden Globe award for best supporting actor for his role in Spartacus in 1960...
.
Also in 1946, the upstart All-America Football Conference
All-America Football Conference
The All-America Football Conference was a professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League from 1946 to 1949. One of the NFL's most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many of the nation's best players, and introduced many lasting innovations...
began play: the AAFC's Los Angeles Dons
Los Angeles Dons
The Los Angeles Dons were an American football team in the now defunct All-America Football Conference from 1946 to 1949 that played in the Los Angeles Coliseum....
also played at the Coliseum. When the AAFC folded in 1950, the Dons went out of business, but the AAFC's San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
were admitted to the NFL. This provided the NFL with a workable pair of West Coast cities for travel.
Another AAFC franchise which moved over to the NFL was the Cleveland Browns
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, who were based in the city the Rams had deserted. The Browns and the Rams met in the 1950 NFL Championship game: the Browns won the game 30–28.
The Rams quickly became established as an NFL power, with top quarterbacks like Roman Gabriel
Roman Gabriel
Roman Ildonzo Gabriel, Jr. is a former American football player. The son of a Filipino immigrant, he was the first Asian-American to start as an NFL quarterback and is considered by many to have been one of the best players at that position during the late 1960s and early 70s.Gabriel attended and...
and the legendary Fearsome Foursome
Fearsome Foursome (football)
The "Fearsome Foursome" was a title first used in reporting American Professional Football, when referring to the dominating defensive lines of the San Diego Chargers of the American Football League in the early 1960s, the New York Giants, Detroit Lions and most widely, the Los Angeles Rams of the...
defensive line of the 1960s.
Rams move to Anaheim
By 1979 the Rams were a successful franchise, and made it to their first Super BowlSuper Bowl XIV
Super Bowl XIV was an American football game played on January 20, 1980 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California to decide the National Football League champion following the 1979 regular season...
that year. However, they had long been dissatisfied with the L.A. Coliseum, due to its size (the cavernous venue sold out very infrequently, causing blackouts of Rams games on local TV), its location (in South Central Los Angeles
South Los Angeles
South Los Angeles, often abbreviated as South L.A. and formerly South Central Los Angeles, is the official name for a large geographic and cultural portion lying to the southwest and southeast of downtown Los Angeles, California. The area was formerly called South Central, and is still widely known...
, perceived to be one of the city's more dangerous neighborhoods), and its lack of nearby parking. At various times they shared the stadium with both the USC Trojans and UCLA Bruins football
UCLA Bruins Football
The UCLA Bruins football program represents the University of California, Los Angeles in college football as members of the Pacific-12 Conference at the NCAA Division I FBS level. The Bruins have enjoyed several periods of success in their history, having been ranked in the top ten of the AP Poll...
teams. Ownership (Carroll Rosenbloom
Carroll Rosenbloom
Carroll Rosenbloom was an American entrepreneur and former owner of two professional football teams, the Baltimore Colts and the Los Angeles Rams....
, followed by his widow Georgia Frontiere
Georgia Frontiere
Georgia Frontiere was the majority owner and chairman of the St. Louis Rams football team and the most prominent female owner in a league historically dominated by males....
) was unable to persuade the city to build a new stadium in Los Angeles, so they decided to move out of the Coliseum to Anaheim
Anaheim, California
Anaheim is a city in Orange County, California. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was about 365,463, making it the most populated city in Orange County, the 10th most-populated city in California, and ranked 54th in the United States...
(28 miles southeast of downtown L.A.) in Orange County
Orange County, California
Orange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...
, which was then experiencing an enormous boom in population and construction.
Beginning in 1980, the Rams played in Anaheim Stadium
Angel Stadium of Anaheim
Angel Stadium of Anaheim is a modern-style ballpark located in Anaheim, California. It is the home ballpark to Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim of the American League, and was previously home to the NFL's Los Angeles Rams...
, which already had a football press box built into the upper deck when it opened in 1966. Further renovations included enclosing the facility by extending the stadium's three decks (the baseball outfield area had previously been open to the outside), and building luxury suites in the mezzanine
Mezzanine (architecture)
In architecture, a mezzanine or entresol is an intermediate floor between main floors of a building, and therefore typically not counted among the overall floors of a building. Often, a mezzanine is low-ceilinged and projects in the form of a balcony. The term is also used for the lowest balcony in...
"club" level.
Three teams had previously played home games in Anaheim Stadium prior to the Rams' move: the Southern California Sun
Southern California Sun
The Southern California Sun were an American football team based out of Anaheim, California that played in the World Football League in 1974 and 1975. Their records were 13-7 in 1974 and 7-5 in 1975. Their home stadium was Anaheim Stadium...
of the World Football League
World Football League
The World Football League was a short-lived gridiron football league that played in 1974 and part of 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a worldwide stage, the farthest the WFL reached was placing a team – the Hawaiians – in Honolulu, Hawaii. The...
and the now-defunct football programs at Cal State Fullerton
California State University, Fullerton
California State University, Fullerton is a public university located in Fullerton, California. It is the largest institution in the CSU System by enrollment, it offers long-distance education and adult-degree programs...
and Long Beach State
California State University, Long Beach
California State University, Long Beach is the second largest campus of the California State University system and the third largest university in the state of California by enrollment...
. During the Rams' stay in Anaheim, they were the stadium's sole football tenant and shared it with the California Angels
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are a professional baseball team based in Anaheim, California, United States. The Angels are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The "Angels" name originates from the city in which the team started, Los Angeles...
baseball team.
Rams move to St. Louis
Rams owner Georgia FrontiereGeorgia Frontiere
Georgia Frontiere was the majority owner and chairman of the St. Louis Rams football team and the most prominent female owner in a league historically dominated by males....
began to shop around for a new home for her team, which was falling behind other NFL teams in luxury-box and other non-shared revenue. By the end of the season, talks had begun with St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
and Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
; meanwhile, she was hoping that Anaheim and/or Orange County
Orange County, California
Orange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...
would also make an attractive offer. Anaheim, going through a recession, could not agree on a tax package to pay for the improvements that Frontiere insisted on, so they dropped out of the bidding. Rams fans, bothered by Frontiere talking to other cities about moving the franchise, voiced their anger by asking for her to sell the team, booing her and starting derogatory chants at games directed at her. Attendance began dwindling, due to frustration by the fans over ownership and the performance by the team on the field. Eventually, St. Louis gave Frontiere the offer she wanted, a brand-new $280 million domed stadium called the "Trans World Dome" (currently the Edward Jones Dome
Edward Jones Dome
The Edward Jones Dome The Edward Jones Dome The Edward Jones Dome (more formally known as the Edward Jones Dome at America's Center, and previously known as The Trans World Dome (from 1995–2001) is a multi-purpose stadium in St. Louis, Missouri, and home of the St. Louis Rams of the NFL. It was...
) with a long-term lease and over 100 luxury boxes. The move was announced in February 1995 and approved by NFL owners that April. The Rams played their last game as the Los Angeles Rams on Christmas Eve 1994, losing 24–21 to the Washington Redskins
Washington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
in front of only 25,750 fans in attendance at Anaheim Stadium. During the 2009 off season, following Frontiere's death, it was announced the Rams were for sale. It was considered possible that the next owner of the Rams could potentially move the team back to Los Angeles; however, this prospect became much less likely when then-minority owner Stan Kroenke, a Missouri native and resident, acquired complete control in August 2010.
The Raiders
The Coliseum next received an NFL team in , when the Oakland RaidersOakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
moved to Los Angeles to become the Los Angeles Raiders. Team owner Al Davis
Al Davis
Allen "Al" Davis was an American football executive. He was the principal owner of the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League from 1970 to 2011...
relocated there without the approval of his fellow owners or NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle
Pete Rozelle
Alvin Ray "Pete" Rozelle was the commissioner of the National Football League from January 1960 to November 1989, when he retired from office. Rozelle is credited with making the NFL into one of the most successful sports leagues in the world....
. One major factor for Davis in moving to the Coliseum despite its flaws as a football stadium was his assumption that the NFL would eventually approve pay-per-view
Pay-per-view
Pay-per-view provides a service by which a television audience can purchase events to view via private telecast. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it...
telecasts for its games; such a move would potentially have given the Raiders a virtual TV monopoly in Los Angeles, the nation's second-largest TV market. Davis also counted on being able to persuade the Los Angeles Coliseum Commission to renovate the facility, particularly by installing scores of luxury box
Luxury box
A Luxury box is a special seating section located within stadiums, arenas and other sporting and entertainment venues. They are typically located in the midsection of a stadium grandstand, usually providing the best views of the event...
es.
The Raiders continued the success they had in Oakland after the move south, winning Super Bowl XVIII
Super Bowl XVIII
Super Bowl XVIII was an American football game played on January 22, 1984, at Tampa Stadium in Tampa, Florida, deciding the National Football League champion following the 1983 regular season. The American Football Conference champion Los Angeles Raiders defeated the National Football Conference...
in January 1984 and reaching the AFC Championship Game
AFC Championship Game
The American Football Conference Championship Game is one of the two final playoff matches of the National Football League, the largest professional American football league in the United States. The game is played on the penultimate Sunday in January and determines the champion of the American...
after the season. But the team gained a controversial reputation off the field, as its silver and black colors became associated with L.A.'s notorious street gangs. More importantly, the Los Angeles Coliseum Commission never gave Davis the lucrative package of amenities he had been promised, and the NFL's broadcast contracts never instituted pay-per-view. Davis entertained an offer from Irwindale, California
Irwindale, California
Irwindale is a city in the San Gabriel Valley, in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 1,422 at the 2010 census, down from 1,446 at the 2000 census....
(east of downtown L.A.) in , but did not move there.
Prior to 1993, the Coliseum Commission approved multiple changes to enhance the stadium as a football facility: Capacity was reduced, the field was lowered, the surrounding running track was removed, bleachers were replaced by single seats, and locker rooms and fan restrooms were upgraded.
The Coliseum briefly fielded another professional football team, the Los Angeles Express of the United States Football League, from 1983 to 1985. The league played in the springtime, avoiding stadium conflicts with the NFL and the Raiders.
Raiders return to Oakland
Due in no small part to the decision by the Los Angeles Sports Commission to halt further planned renovations to the Coliseum due to repair costs generated by the 1994 Northridge earthquakeNorthridge earthquake
The Northridge earthquake was a massive earthquake that occurred on January 17, 1994, at 04:31 Pacific Standard Time in Reseda, a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California, lasting for about 10–20 seconds...
, Al Davis gave up on Los Angeles, and decided to accept a new stadium renovation offer from Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
and to return to his team's former home. The renovation expanded the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum to 63,000 seats and added 86 luxury boxes and thousands of club seats. The deal was announced on June 23, and approved by league owners on August 9 of that year. The Raiders, like the Rams, played their last game in L.A. on Christmas Eve 1994, losing 19–9 to the Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a...
in front of 64,130 in attendance at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
AFL franchise in Los Angeles
In , the American Football LeagueAmerican Football League
The American Football League was a major American Professional Football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when the established National Football League merged with it. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence...
(AFL) was formed. The now-San Diego Chargers
San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers are a professional American football team based in San Diego, California. they were members of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
played their first season in Los Angeles, but moved to San Diego in 1961.
Since 1995: Major developments
Within months of the moves of the Rams and Raiders, several NFL teams were rumored to be replacements. They included the Cleveland BrownsCleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, the Cincinnati Bengals
Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional football team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the AFC's North Division in the National Football League . The Bengals began play in 1968 as an expansion team in the American Football League , and joined the NFL in 1970 in the AFL-NFL...
, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West...
, and the Seattle Seahawks
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...
. However, the Browns
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
moved to become the Baltimore Ravens
Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens are a professional football franchise based in Baltimore, Maryland.The Baltimore Ravens are officially a quasi-expansion franchise, having originated in 1995 with the Cleveland Browns relocation controversy after Art Modell, then owner of the Cleveland Browns, announced his...
in amid major controversy
Cleveland Browns relocation controversy
The Cleveland Browns relocation controversy was the decision by then Browns owner Art Modell to move the National Football League team from its longtime home of Cleveland, Ohio to Baltimore, Maryland for the 1996 NFL season...
, and a new Browns team occupied a new stadium
Cleveland Browns Stadium
-See also:* List of current National Football League stadiums* Chronology of home stadiums for current National Football League teams* List of American football stadiums by capacity* List of U.S. stadiums by capacity* List of North American stadiums by capacity...
in . The Bengals, Buccaneers and Seahawks, meanwhile, used L.A.'s vacancy as leverage to convince their cities to help finance new stadiums.
Other developments have included:
- In 1996, Los Angeles DodgersLos Angeles DodgersThe Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
owner Peter O'MalleyPeter O'MalleyPeter O'Malley is the former president and owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers of American Major League Baseball.-Biography:...
offered land near Dodger StadiumDodger StadiumDodger Stadium, also sometimes called Chavez Ravine, is a stadium in Los Angeles. Located adjacent to Downtown Los Angeles, Dodger Stadium has been the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers team since 1962...
for a new football stadium. However, O'Malley was persuaded to drop the proposal in in favor of supporting the Coliseum plan. - In March 1996, Seattle SeahawksSeattle SeahawksThe Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...
owner Ken BehringKen BehringKenneth Eugene Behring is a real-estate developer, former owner of the Seattle Seahawks football team, and philanthropist.-Early years:...
moved office equipment and some athletic gear to the elementary school in Anaheim that once held Rams practices, hoping to get approval for a permanent move to southern California. Because of an owners' revolt, Behring halted the process and moved the equipment back to Seattle. Eventually, Paul AllenPaul AllenPaul Gardner Allen is an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. Allen co-founded Microsoft with Bill Gates...
bought the team and kept it in Seattle by building Seahawks StadiumQwest FieldCenturyLink Field is a multi-purpose stadium in Seattle, Washington, United States. It serves as the home field for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League and Seattle Sounders FC of Major League Soccer...
, now known as CenturyLink Field. - Perhaps the closest Los Angeles has come to regaining the NFL was in 1999, when the NFL approved a new franchise, the league's 32nd, for Los Angeles, on the condition that the city and NFL agree on a stadium site and stadium financing. Those agreements were never reached, and in October 1999, the franchise was awarded to a Houston ownership group instead, which formed the Houston TexansHouston TexansThe Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston, Texas. The team is currently a member of the Southern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
. - In , a proposal was floated for a new stadium near Staples CenterStaples CenterStaples Center is a multi-purpose sports arena in Downtown Los Angeles. Adjacent to the L.A. Live development, it is located next to the Los Angeles Convention Center complex along Figueroa Street. Opening on October 17, 1999, it is one of the major sporting facilities in the Greater Los Angeles...
. The stadium and team would have been owned by billionaire Phillip Anschutz and HollywoodCinema of the United StatesThe cinema of the United States, also known as Hollywood, has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period...
scion Casey WassermanCasey WassermanCasey Wasserman is an entertainment executive, sports agent executive and owner of the former Arena League football team, the Los Angeles Avengers. Born Casey Meyer, he is the son of the Los Angeles socialite and philanthropist Lynne Wasserman. Casey's parents were divorced and he took his...
, and the stadium would have been built with private funding. That died down quickly when it failed to get the support of the city council. In particular, Mark Ridley-ThomasMark Ridley-ThomasMark Ridley-Thomas , often referred to by his initials, MRT, is a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors for District 2, who succeeded Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke...
, whose district includes the Coliseum, never supported it. - In , reports circulated that Indianapolis ColtsIndianapolis ColtsThe Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....
owner Jim IrsayJim IrsayJames Irsay is the owner and CEO of the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League.-Biography:...
visited Southern CaliforniaSouthern CaliforniaSouthern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
, presumably for meetings with local officials on moving his team to Los Angeles. Irsay never confirmed nor denied those reports, and the Colts later reached a deal for a new stadiumLucas Oil StadiumLucas Oil Stadium is a multi-purpose sports stadium in Downtown Indianapolis, Indiana. The stadium celebrated its grand opening on August 24, 2008, and its ribbon-cutting ceremony August 16, 2008. It replaced the RCA Dome as the home field of the NFL's Indianapolis Colts. The stadium was built to...
in IndianapolisIndianapolisIndianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
. - As recently as 2005, current Dodgers owner Frank McCourtFrank McCourt (executive)Frank McCourt is the owner and chairman of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Dodger Stadium in Chavez Ravine. In , he purchased a controlling interest of the Dodgers from Fox Entertainment Group, owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation...
showed interest in a similar plan to Peter O'Malley's in which a new NFL stadium would be built in Chavez Ravine next to Dodger Stadium. However, like O'Malley, McCourt was accosted by city officials who expressed their displeasure with his idea in mere part to their favoritism of the repeatedly defunct Coliseum plan. McCourt merely stated that his idea was suitable if the most recent Coliseum plan were to fail. In addition, the NFL was also rumored to favor the Dodger Stadium proposal to the countless Coliseum ideas in the past. - On November 7, 2006, voters in an upper class part of PasadenaPasadena, CaliforniaPasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
overwhelmingly rejected a financing package that would have allocated money for a renovation of the Rose BowlRose Bowl (stadium)The Rose Bowl is an outdoor athletic stadium in Pasadena, California, U.S., in Los Angeles County. The stadium is the site of the annual college football bowl game, the Rose Bowl, held on New Year's Day. In 1982, it became the home field of the UCLA Bruins college football team of the Pac-12...
that would have accommodated an NFL team in fear of greatly increased traffic. The vote was 72 percent against, versus 28 percent in support. Two days later, the San Francisco 49ersSan Francisco 49ersThe San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
broke off talks with the city of San Francisco on a new stadium at Candlestick Point and began negotiations with suburban Santa ClaraSanta Clara, CaliforniaSanta Clara , founded in 1777 and incorporated in 1852, is a city in Santa Clara County, in the U.S. state of California. The city is the site of the eighth of 21 California missions, Mission Santa Clara de Asís, and was named after the mission. The Mission and Mission Gardens are located on the...
, where they hope to build a new stadium to open by 2012. However, many details remained unresolved, and at least one person quoted in an article in the Los Angeles Times said that L.A. could still be a possibility for the 49ers. But the following day, the 49ers reopened talks with San Francisco under pressure from U.S. SenatorUnited States SenateThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
Dianne FeinsteinDianne FeinsteinDianne Goldman Berman Feinstein is the senior U.S. Senator from California. A member of the Democratic Party, she has served in the Senate since 1992. She also served as 38th Mayor of San Francisco from 1978 to 1988....
and Speaker of the HouseSpeaker of the United States House of RepresentativesThe Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, or Speaker of the House, is the presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives...
Nancy PelosiNancy PelosiNancy Patricia D'Alesandro Pelosi is the Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives and served as the 60th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2007 to 2011...
(both San Franciscans, the latter also being Member of CongressUnited States House of RepresentativesThe United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
for most of the city of San Francisco). - In April 2008, Developer Edward P. Roski Jr., a part owner of the Kings and Lakers, proposed a stadium in the City of IndustryIndustry, CaliforniaIndustry is an industrial suburb of Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Valley region of Los Angeles County. Home to over 2,500 businesses and 80,000 jobs, but only 219 residents at the 2010 census - down from 777 residents as of the 2000 United States census - the city is almost entirely industrial...
. - In June 2008, reports surfaced that the City of Industry could become the home of the 49ers or Raiders by as early as 2010 when both teams' stadium leases expired. Other teams mentioned included San DiegoSan Diego ChargersThe San Diego Chargers are a professional American football team based in San Diego, California. they were members of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, MinnesotaMinnesota VikingsThe Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
, JacksonvilleJacksonville JaguarsThe Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, AtlantaAtlanta FalconsThe Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are a member of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
, New OrleansNew Orleans SaintsThe New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are members of the South Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League ....
, BuffaloBuffalo BillsThe Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, and St. LouisSt. Louis RamsThe St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Rams have won three NFL Championships .The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland,...
. - In November 2008, Beverly Hills real estate mogul Richard Rand unveiled preliminary plans to build an NFL stadium in Carson, about 10 miles (16.1 km) south of Downtown Los Angeles. This was a different proposal than the one Michael Ovitz backed in Carson in 1999. At the time, it was unknown if he was competing with Roski's stadium proposal in Industry, or was hoping to attract a second team amid rumors that the L.A. area might get two teams due to its market size.
- On December 1, 2009, in an interview for KTTV (Fox 11), John Semcken of Majestic Realty (the developer for the Los Angeles StadiumLos Angeles StadiumLos Angeles Football Stadium is the working title for a proposed 75,000-seat football stadium, the centerpiece of a 600-acre entertainment district in Industry, California. Upon construction, the district will be named Grand Crossing, California. Edward P...
in Industry) stated that there was a 50/50 chance of a team returning for the 2010 NFL season and a 100% chance for the 2011 season. The teams explicitly mentioned in the interview were the Jacksonville JaguarsJacksonville JaguarsThe Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, San Diego ChargersSan Diego ChargersThe San Diego Chargers are a professional American football team based in San Diego, California. they were members of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, Tampa Bay BuccaneersTampa Bay BuccaneersThe Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West...
, Buffalo BillsBuffalo BillsThe Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, and St. Louis (formerly Los Angeles) RamsSt. Louis RamsThe St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Rams have won three NFL Championships .The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland,...
. The interview occurred shortly after the California state legislature and the governor approved plans for the stadium, but several months before Stan Kroenke became sole owner of the Rams.http://www.losangelesfootballstadium.com/news#post144 - In mid season of 2011, it was reported that the owner of the Tampa Bay BuccaneersTampa Bay BuccaneersThe Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West...
, a franchise located in a metropolitan areaTampa Bay AreaThe Tampa Bay Area is the region of west central Florida adjacent to Tampa Bay. Definitions of the region vary. It is often considered equivalent to the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater Metropolitan Statistical Area defined by the United States Census Bureau. The Census Bureau currently...
with some of the lowest attendance figures in multiple pro sports, including football, had talked with officials in L.A. Nothing has been made official yet though.
Repercussions
Neither the Rams nor Raiders sold out many games while playing in the L.A. area, where they were expected to sell 90,000 tickets a game for Rams and Raiders teams at the Coliseum (several seats were closed off during the time the Raiders called the Coliseum home, also, games between the two teams from 1982-94 did sell out, due to the prospect of a crosstown rivalryCrosstown rivalry
In sports, a crosstown rivalry is a rivalry between two teams in the same metropolitan area. It is a term primarily used in the United States and Canada. They are called "crosstown rivalries" because in most cases, they are held in large cities or metropolitan areas where each team represents a...
). Those games were blacked out
Blackout (broadcasting)
Blackout usually relates to the broadcasting of sports events, television programming, that is prohibited in a certain media market.The purpose is theoretically to generate more revenue by obliging certain actions from fans, either by making them buy tickets or watch other games on TV...
in accord with the NFL's "72-hour rule." The Raiders have since struggled to sell out games in Oakland while the Rams were able to get a deal to return to owner Georgia Frontiere's hometown of St. Louis where they were guaranteed sellout revenues. However, since about 2006 the Rams have been struggling to sell out games in St. Louis. Before his death, Raiders owner Al Davis grew frustrated with Oakland city officials for allegedly duping them into packing their bags in 1994 and sued the city multiple times. He also claimed that the NFL had interfered with his negotiations to build a new stadium in Hollywood Park and subsequently forced the Raiders to take Oakland's offer in a lawsuit that was just recently settled in favor of the league. Davis still stated that the rights to the L.A. market belonged to him and had tried to interfere with attempts to put a new team there by lamenting his desire to still play there and that if he did not that he should have been compensated for the fee the league charged him when he moved there.
Los Angeles as a bargaining chip
Cynics also claim that the National Football League teams do not truly want an NFL franchise in Los Angeles, as it would remove the threat of actually moving an existing team to Los Angeles, a major bargaining chip in negotiations for new stadiums, which are otherwise unpalatable because of the cost of such stadiums often exceeding the values of the franchises themselves.Pro football activity in L.A. since 1995
- The Los Angeles AvengersLos Angeles AvengersThe Los Angeles Avengers was an Arena Football League team based in Los Angeles, California from 2000 through 2008. They folded on April 19, 2009.-History:...
were a member of the Arena Football League from 2000 to 2009, when the league suspended operations. - The Los Angeles XtremeLos Angeles XtremeThe Los Angeles Xtreme was a professional American football team based in Los Angeles, California. The team was a member of the XFL begun by Vince McMahon of World Wrestling Entertainment and by NBC, a major television network in the United States. The team played its home games in the Los Angeles...
won the only championship in the brief history of the XFLXFLThe XFL was a professional American football league that played for one season in 2001. The league was founded by Vince McMahon, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of WWE...
, in 2001. - The United Football League had committed to a Los Angeles franchise (possibly with Mark CubanMark CubanMark Cuban is an American business magnate and investor. He is the owner of the National Basketball Association's Dallas Mavericks, Landmark Theatres, and Magnolia Pictures, and the chairman of the HDTV cable network HDNet....
as its owner) for its 2009 season2009 UFL seasonThe 2009 United Football League season -- referred to by the professional American football league as the UFL Premiere Season -- was the inaugural season of the United Football League...
and, when the league cut back the number of teams it planned to launch from six to four, had planned to have the team that became the Las Vegas LocomotivesLas Vegas LocomotivesThe Las Vegas Locomotives are a professional American football team based in Las Vegas, Nevada who play in the United Football League. The team plays its home games in Sam Boyd Stadium, home field for the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Jim Fassel is the franchise's head coach, president, and...
play one of its home games in the Home Depot Center in preparation for a full-time Los Angeles team in 2010. However, the league later dropped their plan to play at the Home Depot Center in 2009, and later announced that Los Angeles was no longer in contention for 2010 expansion. The league again refused to expand into Los Angeles for the 2011 season, despite a commitment from the commissioner promising a team if it meant an even number of teams (the 2011 season will begin with five teams, Los Angeles would have made it an even six). - The NFL has maintained a limited presence in the market. NFL NetworkNFL NetworkNFL Network is an American television specialty channel owned and operated by the National Football League . It was launched November 4, 2003, only eight months after the league's 32 team owners voted unanimously to approve its formation...
, the in-house cableCable televisionCable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
and satelliteSatellite televisionSatellite television is television programming delivered by the means of communications satellite and received by an outdoor antenna, usually a parabolic mirror generally referred to as a satellite dish, and as far as household usage is concerned, a satellite receiver either in the form of an...
network founded in 2003, is headquartered in nearby Culver CityCulver City, CaliforniaCulver City is a city in western Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 38,883, up from 38,816 at the 2000 census. It is mostly surrounded by the city of Los Angeles, but also shares a border with unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. Culver...
and players often visit its studio, especially in the offseason. - The NFL Players Association's "Rookie Premiere," in which first-year athletes pose for trading cardTrading cardA trading card is a small card, usually made out of paperboard or thick paper, which usually contains an image of a certain person, place or thing and a short description of the picture, along with other text...
pictures, is held annually at the Coliseum. The Coliseum also staged part of the league's opening-weekend celebrations in 2005. - The annual spring meeting of the NFL owners, where new rules are voted on and other issues are talked about, is usually held in the Los Angeles area in March.
- Los Angeles has been named to have a franchise in the relaunch of the USFL, which will have Sean SalisburySean SalisburyRichard Sean Salisbury is an American football analyst, former NFL and CFL quarterback, and actor.-Early life:Salisbury attended Orange Glen High School in Escondido, California...
as coach, but the league opening has been set back several times, currently set for 2012.
Proposed stadiums
Then-Governor Arnold SchwarzeneggerArnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
championed a new football stadium in Anaheim in tandem with a new L.A. Coliseum. There are reports, however, that NFL owners will not approve a return to the L.A. area until two teams commit to play in a single new stadium (similar to the New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
and New York Jets
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, first in Giants Stadium
Giants Stadium
Giants Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium, located in East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA, in the Meadowlands Sports Complex. Maximum seating capacity was 80,242. The building itself was 230.5 m long, 180.5 m wide and 44 m high from service level to the top of the seating bowl and 54 m high to...
and from 2010 in the New Meadowlands Stadium
New Meadowlands Stadium
MetLife Stadium is a stadium in the New York City Metropolitan Area, part of the MetLife Sports Complex, in East Rutherford, New Jersey. It is the home of the New York Giants and New York Jets of the National Football League and is adjacent to the site of the former Giants Stadium, which was home...
). Due to worldwide increases in the prices of steel, concrete and fuel some cost estimates for new stadiums have exceeded $1 billion. As a result, it will be difficult for the league to privately finance one stadium, let alone two. In response to rising cost estimates for a new stadium, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has said that returning the NFL to Los Angeles will require the league to consider unspecified "alternative solutions."
The National Football League is not planning on expanding, so one or more teams would have to relocate to justify any new stadium projects. The three teams which used to play in Los Angeles but moved elsewhere (the San Diego Chargers
San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers are a professional American football team based in San Diego, California. they were members of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, St. Louis Rams
St. Louis Rams
The St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Rams have won three NFL Championships .The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland,...
and Oakland Raiders
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
) have all been rumored to be open to moving back. Four other teams— Buffalo Bills
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, Jacksonville Jaguars
Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
, and the San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
— have also been identified as possible prime tenants of a new stadium.
Near the end of the 2010 season, two of those seven teams suffered severe problems with their current facilities. The roof of the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, commonly called the Metrodome, is a domed sports stadium in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Opened in 1982, it replaced Metropolitan Stadium, which was on the current site of the Mall of America in Bloomington and Memorial Stadium on the University...
in Minneapolis collapsed after record-breaking snowfall in December 2010, forcing the Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
to play their last two home games elsewhere. The first game was delayed one day and was moved to Ford Field
Ford Field
Ford Field is an indoor American football stadium located in Detroit, Michigan, USA, that is the current home field of the NFL's Detroit Lions. It is owned by the Detroit/Wayne County Stadium Authority. It regularly seats 65,000, though it is expandable up to 70,000 for football and 80,000 for...
in Detroit. The second one was played as scheduled in Minneapolis on Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football is a live broadcast of the National Football League on ESPN. From to it aired on ABC. Monday Night Football was, along with Hallmark Hall of Fame, and the Walt Disney anthology television series, one of the longest running prime time commercial network television series...
, but it was moved across town to the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
. Also in December 2010, Qualcomm Stadium
Qualcomm Stadium
Qualcomm Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium, in San Diego, California, in the Mission Valley area....
in San Diego flooded, although no Chargers
San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers are a professional American football team based in San Diego, California. they were members of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
home games were moved or delayed as a result.
Other than Los Angeles, the NFL has returned to every city it vacated in the modern era (Oakland
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
, Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
, St. Louis, Cleveland and Houston). The 2009 NFL season
2009 NFL season
The 2009 NFL season was the 90th regular season of the National Football League.The preseason started with the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game on August 9, 2009, and the regular season began September 10. The season ended with Super Bowl XLIV, the league's championship game, on February 7, 2010 at...
was L.A.'s 15th year with no franchise, thus eclipsing Oakland for the longest duration in the modern era that a former NFL city has lacked a franchise (17 years as of the 2011 NFL Season
2011 NFL season
The 2011 NFL season, the 92nd regular season of the National Football League, began on Thursday, September 8, 2011 with the Super Bowl XLV champion Green Bay Packers defeating the New Orleans Saints 42–34 at Lambeau Field and will end with Super Bowl XLVI, the league's championship game, on...
).
In an open letter on its labor blog, the NFL and Commissioner Roger Goodell brought up Los Angeles first when writing about the need to finance and construct new stadiums with a new collective bargaining agreement. There has been talk of bringing two expansion teams to Los Angeles after a new collective bargaining agreement is achieved.
Coliseum renovation
A renovated Coliseum would seat 65,000 for most major events, expanding to about 80,000 for Super Bowls and University of Southern California (USC) home games. The Coliseum would retain the peristyle section and columns that are part of the current stadium, in a design similar to Soldier FieldSoldier Field
Soldier Field is located on Lake Shore Drive in Chicago, Illinois, United States, in the Near South Side. It is home to the NFL's Chicago Bears...
in Chicago. This stadium is supported by California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
and the Los Angeles City Council
Los Angeles City Council
The Los Angeles City Council is the governing body of the City of Los Angeles.The Council is composed of fifteen members elected from single-member districts for four-year terms. The president of the council and the president pro tempore are chosen by the Council at the first regular meeting after...
approved a preliminary financing plan and environmental impact report in 2006. But the Exposition Park
Exposition Park (Los Angeles)
Exposition Park is located in University Park, Los Angeles, California, across the street from the University of Southern California. Exposition Park houses the following:* Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum* Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena...
area still carries safety concerns among some fans.
In October 2006, a new doubt was cast over the Coliseum's future as a possible venue, as reports surfaced that the Coliseum Commission was negotiating to hand over control of the stadium to USC, which could preclude any plans to renovate the stadium for the NFL. Pat Lynch, the Coliseum's general manager, claimed in a panel discussion in December 2006 that the true cost of a new Coliseum would be closer to $650 million. In December 2007, talks between USC and the Coliseum Commission broke down and the USC Athlectic department made public their threat to leave. In February 2008 the Coliseum Commission and USC came to a tentative agreement that would keep USC Trojans football in place for the next 25 years with an option for a total of 47 years. The agreement would require the Commission to pay for upgrades including replacement of the seats, field, drainage system, and the fence around the stadium. In addition to the basic improvements the deal would see upgrades to the sound and lighting systems, new elevators and escalators, new videoboards and scoreboards, new restrooms and concession areas. In return, USC will agree to pay the equivalent of 8% of all gross ticket sales for home games and 50% of all game day expenses that the stadium incurs. In addition, USC will pay the Commission 8% of all revenue from television broadcasts from games where fewer than 70,000 people are in attendance. The deal also includes a right of consent for USC for any amateur or professional team seeking permission to play in the Coliseum. The Commission and the Trojans will cooperate to find a naming-rights sponsor for the Coliseum. USC will also receive a seat on the Coliseum Commission for as long as the school remains at the stadium.
Anaheim stadium site
A stadium site in Anaheim has been proposed on and off over the last decade. The latest plan is for a 60,000-to-70,000-seat stadium located adjacent to the Rams' old home, Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of AnaheimAngel Stadium of Anaheim
Angel Stadium of Anaheim is a modern-style ballpark located in Anaheim, California. It is the home ballpark to Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim of the American League, and was previously home to the NFL's Los Angeles Rams...
). Those stadiums, as well as the Honda Center (formerly Arrowhead Pond), apartments, shops, and restaurants, would be part of a "Platinum Triangle
Platinum Triangle, Anaheim, California
The Platinum Triangle is a district of Anaheim, California surrounding the city's two major sports venues, the Honda Center and Angel Stadium of Anaheim...
" development.
Carson site
A 70,000-seat stadium was proposed for CarsonCarson, California
Carson is a city in Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2010 census, Carson had a total population of 91,714. Located south of downtown Los Angeles and approximately 14 miles away from the Los Angeles International Airport, it is known as a suburb of the city....
, on a site bordered by Interstates 110 and 405. The stadium and team would have been owned by Hollywood executive Michael Ovitz
Michael Ovitz
Michael S. Ovitz is an American talent agent who co-founded Creative Artists Agency in 1975 and served as its chairman until 1995. Ovitz later served as President of the Walt Disney Company from October 1995 to January 1997....
. But the site is full of toxins and other environmental problems, and eventually for that reason, as well as a failure of Carson to approve a financing plan, it was abandoned. The latest plans are to build The Boulevards at South Bay (formerly Avalon at South Bay and Carson Marketplace), a mixed-use development
Mixed-use development
Mixed-use development is the use of a building, set of buildings, or neighborhood for more than one purpose. Since the 1920s, zoning in some countries has required uses to be separated. However, when jobs, housing, and commercial activities are located close together, a community's transportation...
which will include homes, apartments, a 200-room hotel, and a retail power center. Construction is contingent on an extensive cleanup of the site, which as of spring 2009 was continuing. Developers hope to open at least part of the site in 2011. Carson does have a sports complex, The Home Depot Center
The Home Depot Center
The Home Depot Center is a multiple-use sports complex located on the campus of California State University, Dominguez Hills in Carson, California. It is located approximately 10 miles south of Downtown Los Angeles. Its title sponsor is hardware retailer The Home Depot. The $150 million complex was...
, on the campus of California State University, Dominguez Hills
California State University, Dominguez Hills
California State University, Dominguez Hills is a public university located in the South Bay region of Los Angeles County and was founded in 1960...
.
Dodger Stadium site
The Dodger StadiumDodger Stadium
Dodger Stadium, also sometimes called Chavez Ravine, is a stadium in Los Angeles. Located adjacent to Downtown Los Angeles, Dodger Stadium has been the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers team since 1962...
parking lot has been discussed by NFL owners, in private, as possibly being the best site in Southern California to build a new professional football stadium. Officials with the Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
and the NFL met in secret twice in 2005 to discuss the possibility of constructing a stadium and retail complex adjacent to Dodger Stadium. After the Boston Herald
Boston Herald
The Boston Herald is a daily newspaper that serves Boston, Massachusetts, United States, and its surrounding area. It was started in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States...
reported the details of the plan, political pressure forced both the NFL and McCourts to deny that either party was aggressively pursuing the idea.
City of Industry
Edward P. RoskiEdward P. Roski
Edward P. Roski, Jr. is an American real estate businessman in Los Angeles, California.-Biography:Roski was born in Oklahoma and raised in Southern California. He is a graduate of Loyola High School and the Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California, where in 1962 he earned a...
, a part-owner of the Los Angeles Lakers
Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
and Los Angeles Kings
Los Angeles Kings
The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles, California. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...
, has announced plans for a new stadium on the northern side of the interchange of State Routes 57
California State Route 57
State Route 57 , also known as the Orange Freeway, is a north–south state highway in the Greater Los Angeles Area of the U.S. state of California. It connects the interchange of Interstate 5 and State Route 22 near downtown Orange, locally known as the Orange Crush, with the Glendora Curve...
and 60
California State Route 60
State Route 60 is a state highway in the U.S. state of California. It runs from Interstate 10 near the Los Angeles River in Los Angeles east to I-10 in Riverside County, with overlaps at State Route 57 and Interstate 215.-Route description:...
(almost 22 miles (35.4 km) east of downtown LA) with the purpose of attracting a team to the Los Angeles region. Roski, who built the Staples Center
Staples Center
Staples Center is a multi-purpose sports arena in Downtown Los Angeles. Adjacent to the L.A. Live development, it is located next to the Los Angeles Convention Center complex along Figueroa Street. Opening on October 17, 1999, it is one of the major sporting facilities in the Greater Los Angeles...
, stated that the new 75,000 seat stadium, which is part of a 600 acre
Acre
The acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...
entertainment and retail project, would all be privately financed and would be the centerpiece of a new entertainment complex in the City of Industry
Industry, California
Industry is an industrial suburb of Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Valley region of Los Angeles County. Home to over 2,500 businesses and 80,000 jobs, but only 219 residents at the 2010 census - down from 777 residents as of the 2000 United States census - the city is almost entirely industrial...
. Five teams have been mention as potential candidates for relocation: former Los Angeles teams San Diego Chargers, St. Louis Rams, and Oakland Raiders, plus Minnesota Vikings. The Buffalo Bills, Jacksonville Jaguars and San Francisco 49ers are no longer a candidate for relocation. The project is cleared to begin construction though it is waiting on the negotiations of the NFL's commitment to relocate a team (or possibility two) to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
.
Downtown Los Angeles
Casey WassermanCasey Wasserman
Casey Wasserman is an entertainment executive, sports agent executive and owner of the former Arena League football team, the Los Angeles Avengers. Born Casey Meyer, he is the son of the Los Angeles socialite and philanthropist Lynne Wasserman. Casey's parents were divorced and he took his...
and Tim Leiweke
Tim Leiweke
Timothy Leiweke is President of Anschutz Entertainment Group , which owns the Los Angeles Kings, the Los Angeles Galaxy. part of the Los Angeles Lakers, as well as multiple sporting and entertainment venues around the world-References:...
have investigated the probability of building a 72,000-seat stadium behind Staples Center
Staples Center
Staples Center is a multi-purpose sports arena in Downtown Los Angeles. Adjacent to the L.A. Live development, it is located next to the Los Angeles Convention Center complex along Figueroa Street. Opening on October 17, 1999, it is one of the major sporting facilities in the Greater Los Angeles...
, where the West Hall of the Los Angeles Convention Center now sits. In December Leiweke set a deadline anticipating a cleared negotiation with Los Angeles over control of the current convention center and ownership of the land and an agreement with the NFL over the likelihood of a team moving to Los Angeles. AEG owner Philip Anschutz
Philip Anschutz
Philip Frederick Anschutz is an American entrepreneur. Anschutz bought out his father's drilling company in 1961 and earned large returns in Wyoming. He has invested in stocks, real estate and railroads...
currently is not in support of the project. Anschutz has discussed with five teams: former Los Angeles teams San Diego Chargers, St. Louis Rams, and Oakland Raiders, plus Minnesota Vikings. The Buffalo Bills, Jacksonville Jaguars and San Francisco 49ers are no longer candidates for relocation. On August 9, 2011, the LA City Council approved plans to build Farmers Field in a 12-0 vote. The stadium will become home to an NFL team and is expected to open in 2016.
In fiction
In the Season 7 EntourageEntourage (TV series)
Entourage is an American comedy-drama television series that premiered on HBO on July 18, 2004 and concluded on September 11, 2011, after eight seasons...
episode "Buzzed", the fictional Hollywood agent Ari Gold is offered to run an NFL franchise in Los Angeles after he impresses the NFL board, but fails to win the contract to sell the NFL media rights.
In the 1984 film Against All Odds Jeff Bridges' character plays for a fictional team, the L.A. Outlaws.
In the 1991 action film The Last Boy Scout
The Last Boy Scout
The Last Boy Scout is a 1991 action film starring Bruce Willis as a former Secret Service agent, now working as a private detective, and Damon Wayans as a retired professional football player. The two join forces to solve the murder of Wayans' character’s girlfriend . The movie was produced by...
revolves around a fictional team, the L.A. Stallions.
In the 1978 film Heaven Can Wait
Heaven Can Wait (1978 film)
Heaven Can Wait is a 1978 American comedy film directed by Warren Beatty and Buck Henry. It is the second film adaptation of Harry Segall's stageplay of the same name, preceded by Here Comes Mr. Jordan and followed by Down to Earth...
, Warren Beatty
Warren Beatty
Warren Beatty born March 30, 1937) is an American actor, producer, screenwriter and director. He has received a total of fourteen Academy Award nominations, winning one for Best Director in 1982. He has also won four Golden Globe Awards including the Cecil B. DeMille Award.-Early life and...
is the quarterback of the Los Angeles Rams.