NFL Officially Probing For A Temporary Stadium For LA Team

The NFL is officially searching for a temporary venue for a possible relocating team. Last Thursday a report from the L.A. Times surfaced confirming the NFL’s intention. Proposal requests were issued to possible stadiums that could house an NFL team. According to the report the Rose Bowl and the L.A. Coliseum were among the selections.

It makes sense that both these stadiums were reached out to because both have NCAA football teams as the current tenants. UCLA plays at the Rose Bowl and USC competes at the Coliseum. Both venues can accommodate over 90,000 crazed football fans. The Raiders actually utilized the Coliseum before they split to Oakland in 1995. Not to burst anyone’s bubble, but the report states that USC and UCLA can veto the NFL’s request to house a temporary team.

May 18, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Football Club owner Magic Johnson at a press conference with Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum as a backdrop to announce the intent to build a 22,000 seat soccer stadium at the site of the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Other possible stadiums that could theoretically be used are the StubHub Center, Angels Stadium and Dodger Stadium. I think StubHub is too small for football as it only seats 27,000 people. Even though it’s only for a season or two, the return of the NFL to football-starved Los Angeles would not be enough to hold the immense popularity of the sport.

Angels Stadium and Dodger Stadium are not built for Football. They can hold more people than StubHub but the overall architecture would be uncomfortable and not to mention weird. Nevertheless it will be on a temporary basis. The baseball season would interfere with the NFL season if either team makes the playoffs. Things can get even messier if two teams relocate to LA.

Three teams are tied to Los Angeles – St. Louis Rams, Oakland Raiders and San Diego Chargers. Stan Kroenke’s Rams have a proposed $1.86-billion project for its massive stadium in the works. The City of Carson has a joint-venture involving division rivals Raiders and Chargers possibly sharing a stadium. Both proposed projects have cleared the majority of hurdles but politics and red tape still linger. What’s clear is that the NFL is getting closer to coming to fruition.

The delay is that the NFL doesn’t know which team or teams are making the move. The NFL is conducting their due diligence in having everything in position for an easier transition. Both stadiums may take a year or two to build, but having a team already in place could speed up the process.

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There is an NFL owners-only meeting scheduled for August 11 in Chicago where the subject will be brought up again. In order for relocation to happen, keep in mind ¾ of the owners need to approve the move. If the NFL can find a suitable temp home for a team, it could sway the owners to approve the move. During this meeting all three potential movers (Raiders, Rams & Chargers) will be present. They will update their current stadium situations and surely present their cases to migrate to Los Angeles.

The question on everybody’s minds is which team is making the move? Both stadium projects look great and for all we know by 2016 LA could be home to three NFL teams. As a fan, I wouldn’t mind three teams in LA. It would be tremendous for the city, the sport and the fan base.

The NFL wants to finally get this right. It’s about damn time because Los Angeles has lost three NFL teams and they have to figure out a way to make their stay a permanent one. It’s baffling that the second largest market in the U.S.has been without an NFL team for 20 years.