Even without Rams owner Stan Kroenke purchasing the L.A. Dodgers, the land adjacent to where they currently play remains a possible home for a new NFL team.
Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times takes a thorough and compelling look at Chavez Ravine as a potential NFL destination. And while the location overlooking the downtown area has from time to time made a blip on the league’s radar screen, it presents plenty of challenges. As Farmer writes, "[I]t could take years to untangle the traffic, neighborhood, entitlement, environmental and political issues involved with such a proposal.”
Still, even without a currently active effort to find a way to build a football facility there, the NFL is paying attention. “We’ve often said that that’s an extraordinary stadium site up at Dodger Stadium,” Commissioner Roger Goodell said earlier this week at the league meetings.
There’s even talk about building a new park for the Dodgers in the downtown area, with the NFL stadium constructed on the site of the current Dodgers field.
Still, there’s a long way to go and none of the three current L.A. possibilities is ideal. And with all network TV contracts extended into the next decade, the NFL has no reason to rush back into L.A., especially since the league has enjoyed unprecedented growth and success in the 17 years since the Rams and Raiders left town.