No NFL return to L.A. in 2013

Posted by Mike Florio on December 18, 2012, 4:19 PM EST
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Here’s an item that didn’t register as much as it should have on the national radar screen regarding one specific corner of the map.

Peter King of SI.com reported in his Monday Morning Quarterback column that no team will be moving to Los Angeles in 2013.

It’s not a major surprise, but it means that the Chargers, the team in best position to pull up the stakes and relocate after 2012 given their lease deal, will be stuck in San Diego for another season, with a fan base that has grown increasingly ambivalent.

The possibility of a move was planted by Commissioner Roger Goodell, who in a June 2012 memo regarding relocation procedures mentioned a possible L.A. move for the 2013 season.  As King explains, however, no team has satisfied even one of the prerequisites for relocation:  (1) failure in the team’s current market; (2) a new deal for a permanent home in L.A.; and (3) a deal for a temporary arrangement at the Rose Bowl or the Coliseum.

The window for filing a relocation notice opens on January 1 and closes on February 15.  King reports that there’s no way any team will be able to comply with all three requirements before February 15.

Currently, a stadium project in the City of Industry is shovel ready.  A downtown location that would be named Farmers Field is inching closer toward green-light status.  Some have suggested that the NFL ultimately would prefer building a new venue at Chavez Ravine, the location of Dodger Stadium.

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43 responses to “No NFL return to L.A. in 2013”

  2. That’s the problem. Two projects ready to go and the NFL wants one somewhere else. The NFL needs to either pee or get off the pot with LA-expand and put two teams there like you want or give teams potentially want to move an ultimatum that no relocations will be considered after the 2014 season for a period of five years. Of course that will never happen as I truly believe the NFL like the threat of having a team in LA much more than actual having one there.

  3. Bring back the Rams. Build the stadium in Downtown. Please. Dodgers may end up moving to Downtown anyway… As crazy as it sounds.

  5. Again I am sick of hearing the LA wants a team. They had teams and they left. Said it before and say it again. NO TEAM in the NFL deserves to lose their team to LA.

  6. No “Move the Bills to LA” jokes?
    Hopefully people are realizing that the fan base in WNY and Southern Ontario is strong (selling out games even with this horrible team) Can you imagine if this team was 9-5??
    We could put 80k in the Ralph.

  7. 2023 we will,be reading the same headline.Sorry I just don’t see LA ever getting back a team.

  8. The majority of the potential fan base in LA that can actually afford tickets resides on the Westside (or at least west of the 110). Why do they keep bringing up City of Industry???? What’s wrong with demo’ing the Colosseum, keeping the pillars, and rebuilding a state of the art stadium around it?

  9. as someone who lives in Sacramento, can the NFL please move the Raiders back down to LA. I’m tired of having to miss good games on TV to see the crappy Raiders,

  10. richc111 says:
    Dec 18, 2012 4:34 PM
    Again I am sick of hearing the LA wants a team. They had teams and they left. Said it before and say it again. NO TEAM in the NFL deserves to lose their team to LA.
    ~~~~~~~~~~
    I haven’t heard that at all yet. What I have heard is a couple business ventures about stadiums and the NFL’s blackmail-like threat that any team in “need” of a new stadium might just move to Los Angeles. The people in LA have not said much at all except for the politicians and all they have done is argue about “revenue”.

  11. Whatever they do just don’t build the stadium down town. That would be a hell getting in and out. Do something like the cardinals did, just a little bit out of town and room for everything.

  14. Do you realize how silly that sounds? Have you looked at a map recently? That’s like saying NY has 3 teams already, so Philly, DC and Boston shouldn’t have one.

    —–

    lilrob10201 says: Dec 18, 2012 4:33 PM

    Good they don’t need one.California already has 3 NFL teams,why does it need four ?

  15. The NFL doesn’t want to relocate a team there. They only want to maintain the threat of relocating a team there until every team has a new stadium. Then, they’ll award an expansion franchise to LA for about $1.5+ billion.

    Most cities are now aware of this and don’t cower in fear of losing their franchise as much as they might have a few years ago.

  17. Jags are worst team as per selling seats. But can :A support a team? They’ve lost two already.

  20. no wait, the Jets would be required by California law to rename to something that doesn’t burn so much fossil fuel and contribute to so much pollution.

  21. The NFL knows a team can’t survive more than 5 years in LA. If it’s not a Lakers caliber team, the fans simply will not show up. If fans don’t show up, the games are blacked out on TV. LA fans are the worst in the country. Just go to a Dodgers game when they’re not playing .500 ball. The stadium is half empty and fans refuse to cheer on the team. It’s always the “Giants Suck!” chant when the Giants are ahead by 5 runs in the 1st.

  23. If Steve Ross doesn’t get the public to pay for his stadium upgrades, he will move the team to LA.

    Go look at every move in the past, the Dolphins are following the exact same playbook.

  25. How long has the first pre-req been failing in the current market? The Raiders had just won a Super Bowl when they left Oakland? I dont recall the Baltimore Colts being that bad when they left. The Browns were bad, but the fans were legendary in their loyalty. About the only one was the oilers. The first pre-req should be listed as the failure of the owner to dupe the city their in into paying for a stadium.

  27. Check the stats when it comes to the Jags please.

    Don’t just make up stuff.

    No blackouts in 3 seasons.

  30. An expansion team? Hmm what do we call them “The L.A. Stars”, “The L.A. Gangsters”, “The L.A. Surgeons”? So many interesting things you could use to describe L.A… More then likely an expansion team to L.A. will be named something that has absolutely no correlation or history to the city it’s self. Which would indirectly make perfect sense..

  31. vikingfan1971 says:
    Dec 18, 2012 6:13 PM
    shut up about LA VIKINGS already, they are not moving.
    ——–

    Exactly. The Vikes are getting a new stadium. If the NFL allows them to move now, there would never be another publicly funded stadium approved and the NFL’s entire business model implodes.

  35. maddenisfordorks says:Dec 18, 2012 6:42 PM

    Check the stats when it comes to the Jags please.

    Don’t just make up stuff.

    No blackouts in 3 seasons.

    ————————————————–

    They are incredible at getting thousands of fans excited about dressing up as black tarps.

  36. The only thing that is holding back the Rams from moving is arbitration. If a team wishes to move to LA after February they can do so whether the league approves or not. This matter has already been settled by the courts.

  38. Chargers sell tickets when they don’t suck. If they tried to not suck as bad they would sell more tickets.

  39. Correct me if I am wrong but the Chargers, Raiders and Rams have passed the number 1 rule. I think, the city not getting a stadium done by now, would be considered a failure in the team’s current market.

    No team has made a deal for a permanent home in Los Angeles because they are not allowed to start yet and no team would consider discussion before the end of the current season. The permanent home will be farmers field in downtown Los Angeles and the city of industry site has and is pretty much dead. It’s been a none factor since AEG got into the game.

    The Rose Bowl and the City of Pasadena are ready for a team to call the Bowl a home. The Coliseum is no longer a city owned property and is managed by USC. I highly doubt, that they will agree on letting a NFL team call it home for 3-4 years. Specially after what USC’s football coach has done to visiting teams, regarding not being able to warm up on the field.

    But, I do agree that 2013 may be a year to early. But, if they do not get going soon it the stadium idea may just walk into the sunset.

  42. Farmer’s Field has been “green-lighted” and is ready to go. But they wont start digging until a team is committed to move to LA. Yes the Rose Bowl has agreed to a TEMPORARY lease for a team until the downtown stadium is completed.
    USC is still a City-County-State property, but they made a deal to let USC manage it. They don’t own it outright. And the people thinking the Rams want to play in Anaheim are stupid. It’s a BASEBALL STADIUM and the reason they left in the first place! And as far as traffic… last time I checked, most NFL games are still played on SUNDAY. Not a lot of downtown traffic on Sunday. Monday night games might be drag though.

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