Lakers, Ducks, Dodgers, & Others Are Looking To Make L.A. The Best Sports City Ever

By Jamaal Artis | May 20, 2015

May 18, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Football Club owner

Magic Johnson

at a press conference at Exposition Park to announce the intent to build a 22,000 soccer stadium at the site of the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

This week news broke that the expansion Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC) was going to build the first outdoor stadium within the city limits since Dodger Stadium was built in 1962.

Spurred on by an ownership group which includes Los Angeles icon Magic Johnson, Former Dodger and current broadcaster Nomar Garciaparra and his wife U.S. Women’s Soccer superstar Mia Hamm, LAFC is proposing demolishing the Los Angeles Sports Arena and placing a new 250 million dollar stadium next to the historic Los Angeles Coliseum to open in 2018.

Also this week during the National Football League (NFL) Owners meetings in San Francisco the topic of relocation to Los Angeles was on the agenda as stadium proposals in Inglewood and Carson were discussed.

These discussions prompted NFL Vice President Eric Grubman to state “to the point where we think there could be at least one, and maybe two relocation proposals available to act on in time for the 2016 season.”

If this were to happen Los Angeles could be hosting a Super Bowl as soon as 2020.

More from LA Sports

This weeks news is a continuing trend where Los Angeles has become a major focus for sports news. During Tuesday’s NBA Draft lottery news was devoted towards the fact that the Los Angeles Lakers had managed to snag one of the top 2 picks in this years draft as much as the fact that the Minnesota Timberwolves had picked up the the number one pick.

It only made it clear that good news for the Los Angeles Lakers was good news for the NBA.

"Since 2000, Los Angeles based teams have won 14 championships between the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Kings, Los Angeles Galaxy, and Anaheim Ducks"

For the fourth straight year the National Hockey League’s Western Conference Final is being played in Southern California as the Anaheim Ducks take over where the Los Angeles Kings left off in trying to get to the Stanley Cup Final.

Speaking of the Los Angeles Kings today they were named “Sports Team of the Year” during the eighth annual Sports Business Awards event in New York City.

May 18, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Artist rendering of the Los Angeles Football Club proposed 22,000 seat soccer stadium at the site of the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

You want billionaire owners, the purchase of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2012 and Los Angeles Clippers in 2014 have set a new paradigm in sports business where teams visibility on regional sports television networks drive up the sales price as much as the actual product does.

Los Angeles based teams aren’t just winning off the playing field but on it as well.

Since 2000 Los Angeles based teams have won 14 championships between the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Kings, Los Angeles Galaxy, Los Angeles, and Anaheim Ducks.

Recently the Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angeles Clippers have also made noise in their respective playoffs, where it looks like they may win a championship not if but when.

If the new stadiums are opened in the Los Angeles area soon other big sporting events will logically be bid. Not only will the Super Bowl return for the first time since 1993, but Los Angeles will be able to lure future NCAA Basketball Final Fours, FIFA World Cup Finals, and perhaps even a return for the International Olympic Games.

All of this points to Los Angeles being the sports capital of the U.S.