Coliseum is only L.A.-area venue to show interest in hosting NFL team
The NFL continues to have trouble finding temporary homes for teams should franchises decide to relocate to the area next season, report Nathan Fenno and Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times.
So far, only the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum has expressed interest in hosting an NFL team. The NFL’s initial review of submissions was to be completed by Wednesday, with the hope of finalizing agreements later in the year.
Last month, The Rose Bowl Operating Co. refused to respond to the league’s proposal requests to several Los Angeles area-venues. The Rose Bowl instead said that they would pursue an annual music and arts festival for the stadium, which would bring in an estimated $3 million a year in revenue. They held firm to that statement on Monday.
In June, the NFL started issuing proposal requests to several Los Angeles area-venues in efforts of securing a temporary home for a possible team in the city, which included Dodger Stadium, Angel Stadium and StubHub Center, home of Major League Soccer’s LA Galaxy.
The Anschutz Entertainment Group, which operates the StubHub Center, told the Los Angeles Times they will also not submit a bid to host a team.
"We've really just begun," NFL senior vice president Eric Grubman said. "Aug. 5 was a date that helped us know what venues might be available in a traditional sense and I think that has sorted itself out. ... Other, more complex opportunities could very well present themselves as the picture becomes clearer."
An Aug. 11 meeting in Chicago is scheduled for the NFL owners to discuss the possibility of a team playing in Los Angeles next season.
St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke is moving forward with plans for a team in Los Angeles, after he bought 60 acres of land adjacent to the Forum and Hollywood Park in Inglewood last year with plans to build a $1.86-billion, 80,000-seat NFL stadium.
The Carson (Calif.) City Council unanimously approved a $1.7 billion NFL stadium plan, with the new facility to be shared by the San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders, while San Diego officials are working to complete an environmental impact report in order to publicly vote on a $1.4 billion stadium in the city.
"In any event," Grubman said, "I think this works itself out by the end of this year."
- Scooby Axson
