---

Los Angeles OKs outlines of downtown football stadium deal

David Zahniser and Sam Farmer, Los Angeles Times
August 10, 2011

In the most significant step toward bringing NFL football back to Los Angeles since the city lost out on an expansion team more than a decade ago, the City Council on Tuesday approved the outlines of a $1.5-billion deal to develop a new downtown stadium and major wing of the Convention Center.

The unanimous vote gave city leaders a rare chance to seize on a major economic development after years of slashing payrolls, scaling back services and watching helplessly as the real estate market dried up. And it came at a time when business leaders and trade unions are desperately seeking ways to jump-start a local economy plagued by double-digit unemployment.

"It is a very important project at a very tenuous economic time," said Carol Schatz, executive director of the Central City Assn., a downtown business group and a leading backer of the project.

"We're bringing the NFL back.... We're going to get millions more in additional development, and that means millions more in tax revenue. On this one I have to ask: What's not to like?"

The vote is a victory for politically influential developer Anschutz Entertainment Group, which overcame concerns from some council members and activists that the city was rushing into a risky deal that could compound its budget woes. In the end, city negotiators shifted more financial risk to AEG and promised a full examination of the project's environmental impacts.

Approval of the deal framework puts AEG in a better position to deliver on its plan to open the 72,000-seat stadium in five years and show the NFL that the company has overcome political obstacles, said AEG Chief Executive Tim Leiweke. "It sends a very strong message to the NFL owners. We did it. We were unanimous," he said.

More detailed negotiations will continue for months, but AEG can now step up efforts to pursue a team from another city — a linchpin of the development agreement. "It's big for the leaders there to make the commitment they have," said Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, who serves on the NFL's stadium review committee.

City Administrative Officer Miguel Santana, a key city negotiator, said, "We're serious about this."

AEG is already working on state legislation to limit the type of legal challenges —- including one it fears from backers of a competing stadium in the City of Industry — that could be filed against the project on environmental grounds. Such lawsuit restrictions can provide builders and lenders greater certainty about large projects but are also highly controversial.

"What we are asking for is protection from frivolous lawsuits from those who are trying to get a competitive advantage or those who are just trying to destroy the process," Leiweke said.

The Raiders pulled up stakes in 1995. Four years later, L.A. almost secured an expansion team for the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, only to see the ownership group outbid by a Houston billionaire. Later efforts also fizzled when proposals involving downtown, Carson and the Coliseum failed to gain traction.

Stadium boosters contend that this proposal is different, delivering more than 20,000 new jobs — 6,320 of them permanent — while freeing up the money the city needs to replace the oldest section of its Convention Center. That facility lags behind those in San Francisco, San Diego and Anaheim in event bookings.

"I really believe that it's going to happen," said Councilman Bernard C. Parks of securing an NFL team.

Of the challenges still ahead, the most difficult for Phil Anschutz, the billionaire owner of AEG, could be securing an NFL franchise. The league has no intention of expanding beyond the current 32 teams, so Anschutz must reach a deal with an existing owner to relocate to L.A.

The relocation would have to be approved by a three-fourths vote of the 32 owners. The league is unlikely to give away access to L.A., the nation's second-largest media market, so any deal would almost certainly include a transfer fee, possibly in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

But sports agent Casey Wasserman, who brought the downtown stadium idea to AEG, said Tuesday's action shows the NFL that city officials can find common ground with the private sector. "This is a solution that really does work for everybody. It puts the pieces together to bring the NFL back," he said.

Developers of the competing City of Industry stadium, which also has preliminary local approvals, gave no indication that they were backing off, saying Tuesday that their project would generate "more money, jobs and long-term success for the region and the NFL" than the AEG proposal.

"We are more active than ever and are currently working with the league, owners and teams to bring a franchise back to Los Angeles," said John Semcken, vice president of Majestic Realty.

The L.A. stadium would be AEG's third major project on the southern edge of downtown. The council approved the L.A. Live entertainment complex in 2005 and Staples Center more than a decade ago.

AEG, which has poured money into the election campaigns and ballot measures of the city's political leaders, overcame the skepticism of a trio of council members who voiced fears about the financial details.

"I've looked at this and I've studied it and I've argued against it, as you have all heard," Councilman Paul Krekorian told his colleagues. "And I have become convinced that … the risks are minimal, if not nonexistent."

Under the proposal, the city would issue $275 million in bonds, money that would allow for the demolition and reconstruction of the Convention Center's West Hall. AEG would then build the stadium, to be known as Farmers Field, on the former site of the West Hall.

Revenue from both projects — including sales taxes, property taxes, and parking taxes — would be used to pay off $195 million in bonds. AEG would be on the hook for the remaining $80 million in bonds, and if it defaulted, the city would have the power to foreclose on L.A. Live, city analysts said. A vote on a final stadium deal between AEG and Los Angeles is slated for May.

In the seven months since AEG's Leiweke announced plans for a stadium, council members have heard a constant drumbeat of support from members of the city's construction trade unions. Those workers have shown up at council meetings week after week, telling of their ongoing financial woes and describing the stadium as a lifeline.

"We've got members coming to us on a regular basis saying that their unemployment is running out, that they don't know how they're going to pay their rent, their utilities," said Sergio Ramos, an organizer for Laborers' Local 300, who showed up for Tuesday's vote with about 30 union members in orange vests.

Despite such support, critics continued to warn that the project would flood downtown with additional traffic and leave too much money on the table for AEG.

Management consultant Quentin Fleming, who has attended several stadium hearings, said the city also should have demanded a 50-50 split of any revenue that exceeds AEG's currently projected investment return. "The economics are there," Fleming told the council. "Is the political will?"

Leiweke said that reopening the deal to look at profit sharing would not "inspire confidence" with the NFL. "Let's not revisit deals that have already been done," he said.

Go to the TOP

---

L.A. moving closer and closer to getting the NFL back

Sam Farmer, LA Times
August 9, 2011

The 16-year drive to bring the NFL back to Los Angeles has finally entered the red zone.

With the City Council voting 12-0 Tuesday to approve the framework of an AEG-backed downtown stadium deal, the prospect of the nation's No. 1 sport returning to the No. 2 market is more real than it has been in a decade.

Up to this point, the city has thrown its weight behind the Coliseum, widely considered a non-starter in NFL circles. Because that stadium is now out of play — USC has the right of first refusal on a league return there — this is the first time the council has formally endorsed another NFL venue within the city.

The NFL, in turn, has taken notice.

"I'm very encouraged," said Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, a member of the league's stadium committee. "It's a compliment to the NFL. It's a compliment to the potential franchise that comes to the city. It's a compliment to the principals there."

But will this really happen, or will this wind up being just another false start in a tiresome saga filled with them? Developer Ed Roski, the billionaire behind a competing stadium proposal in City of Industry, says football fans in the area have long suffered from "deal fatigue" after watching concept after concept — including others downtown — fall by the wayside.

Times NFL writer Sam Farmer asks and answers questions about where the competing L.A. proposals stand in the wake of the council's vote:

Does this mean the NFL is coming back?

Not necessarily. But the stars are better aligned than they have been since 1999, when a group of L.A. investors were outbid by Texas oilman Bob McNair for the 32nd franchise, which became the Houston Texans. This vote was another star moving into place, and a message to the NFL that the city is willing to make a significant investment (albeit one that will be repaid) to facilitate a deal.

Why are the stars aligned?

Now that the league and players have put the finishing touches on a 10-year labor deal, the NFL wants to make good on its promise to "grow the pie" and further increase revenues. One of the clearest ways to accomplish that is by taking a team that's not meeting financial expectations in its current market and moving it to L.A.

The NFL has said it's not expanding. So when would a team relocate?

If AEG has its way, a franchise will relocate to L.A. this spring, use the company's Home Depot Center as a training facility, and play in the Coliseum or Rose Bowl until Farmers Field is ready for the 2016 season.

Why the rush?

The deal with the city hinges on AEG securing a long-term agreement with a team. Once a team agrees to relocate, it's dead in its current market. It can either move right away, or play a season with 5,000 people in the stands. The NFL won't have that.

So which team is most likely to move?

San Diego is the clubhouse leader. The way I see it, the Vikings will get a deal done in Minnesota, and it will be more difficult than people think to extract the Jaguars from Jacksonville or the Bills from Buffalo.

The Rams could be the second team to return to L.A., but they can't move from St. Louis until 2014, and that doesn't fit with AEG Chief Executive Tim Leiweke's timeline. As for the Raiders, they're too polarizing — people love them or hate them — and AEG is banking on this deal to help them sell top-dollar condominiums at L.A. Live. Telling potential buyers the Raiders will play 10 games a year there won't necessarily be a selling point.

Will it be easy for AEG owner Philip Anschutz to make a deal with the Chargers?

First of all, the Spanos family won't give up controlling ownership of the team. Insiders say the family and Anschutz are far apart on how much of the team he should own, and how much he should pay. He's looking for a deep discount, and Chargers President Dean Spanos isn't likely to go for that, no matter how dazzling the L.A. stadium might be.

Are the sides eventually going to agree on a price?

Here's betting they do, providing it gets that far. That price disagreement would have to be pretty bad for Anschutz to spend $45 million on an environmental impact report and plans for a stadium, training center and Pico Hall, and then walk away at the altar.

Does this mean the downtown site has won the stadium derby?

No. This just means AEG has cleared the first of three major hurdles, with the next two being getting the site entitled for the project and striking a deal to move a team there.

The Industry project, now called Grand Crossing, has long held a significant advantage in that Roski controls his 600-acre site and has all the clearances he needs to begin pushing dirt, although he doesn't have the architectural plans to start putting steel in the ground.

Is the NFL going to pick one site over the other?

Eventually. But the league will encourage both to keep moving forward. It wants competition. Put it this way: If you have two people bidding up the price of your house, you're not going to turn one away just because you prefer the other.

There are a lot of people — Roski among them — who don't think AEG can get the downtown site entitled for a stadium. If AEG drops out, Grand Crossing is the last project standing.

That said, as long as downtown is viable, it's the preferred site among many influential NFL owners and executives.

Is L.A. at the goal line?

Not quite, but you can see it from here.

Go to the TOP

---

Downtown stadium gaining yardage

Rick Orlov and Dakota Smith, Daily News
8/9/11

The proposed Farmer's Field stadium as seen from the L.A. Live complex in downtown Los Angeles in a rendering.

Sixteen years after the NFL left Los Angeles, the City Council approved a preliminary agreement Tuesday for a $1.2 billion downtown stadium that developers hope will attract a professional football team.

Tim Leiweke, president and CEO of Anschutz Entertainment Group, said the council's 12-0 vote approving the framework for the project's funding and timeline sends a strong message to the NFL that the city is behind the proposal for a 75,000-seat stadium.

Under the memorandum of understanding, the city would issue $280 million in tax-exempt bonds to relocate the West Hall of the Convention Center to accommodate the stadium. The deal requires AEG to guarantee that no public money be used for the project.

"The deal we made is there to protect the taxpayers," said Council President Eric Garcetti. "This will give us a public face of Los Angeles worthy of the 21st century ... It's time for us to take the next brave step forward to bring football back to Los Angeles."

Leiweke said AEG and its owner, billionaire Philip Anschutz, hope to acquire an NFL team and host the first season at the Farmers Field stadium in 2016.

"It does not make sense for us to be only the landlord," Leiweke said. "We are looking at a model like Staples, where Mr. Anschutz has an interest in the teams."

To meet that deadline, Leiweke said, the company must begin construction by June 1, 2012. Anschutz is willing to spend up to $50 million on the environmental review and designs.

"He has agreed to allow us to go to design drawings," Leiweke said. "But we will not invest the $1 billion-plus for a stadium without a team.

NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said the league is following the discussions in Los Angeles and "will continue to closely monitor all stadium developments."

City Councilwoman Jan Perry said the plan to replace the Convention Center hall with an expanded exhibition space will help Los Angeles become competitive with cities like San Diego and Anaheim.

"This allows us to leverage private investments to expand our municipal facilities," said Perry, who represents the downtown area and chairs the Ad Hoc Committee on the stadium project.

"Most importantly, this is about jobs. We will have 6,000 permanent jobs and 13,000 construction jobs."

Carol Schatz, president of the Civic Center Association, said 11 hotel operators have contacted her organization since the plans for the upgraded Convention Center were announced in February.

"We know there is interest in developing this area with hotels, nightclubs, restaurants," Schatz said. "All we need to do is get this project moving."

According to the AEG plan, the new hall would be built on Pico Boulevard before the West Hall is demolished to make way for the stadium. The developer also has agreed to build two parking structures that would serve the area.

Garcetti said the city is developing a new model for the NFL, with a stadium financed by investors who have no direct interest in a team.

"I think we have shown the NFL that they need Los Angeles more than Los Angeles needs the NFL," Garcetti said.

Officials have considered several previous proposals for returning football to Los Angeles over the years, including plans to upgrade the Memorial Coliseum. There also have been preliminary proposals for stadiums in Carson, Hollywood Park and the South Park area.

However, the most serious contender to AEG's plan is a proposal by Majestic Realty to build a stadium in the City of Industry.

Majestic Senior Vice President John Semcken argued their proposal is more financially sound than AEG's.

"Our stadium proposal will generate more money, jobs and long-term success for the region and the NFL," Semcken said. "We are more active than ever and are currently working with the league, owners and teams to bring a franchise back to Los Angeles."

Leiweke said he believes the downtown stadium is the best location, and that AEG would abort its plan if Majestic wins a team.

With the AEG agreement, Chief Legislative Analyst Gerry Miller, who headed the city's negotiation team, said all aspects of the deal remain open, including the expected rate of return.

"We have a certain assumption, but the developer will try to increase their rate of return," Miller said. "That's what developers do."

Another issue that will receive close attention is the design of the stadium and the improvements needed in the surrounding area.

"I am very concerned with what we will be doing to accommodate 65,000 to 75,000 people on a weekend," Perry said.

Councilman Bill Rosendahl, who had raised the most questions about the proposal, said he believed the MOU allows the city to be more aggressive in its relationship with AEG.

"I look forward as the process goes on and, with the idea, when we bring these teams in, the city can get something back from the television revenue," Rosendahl said. "The most important, critical part of this is the jobs. That part is the no-brainer. The more jobs we create the better."

Councilman Bernard Parks asked that the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum be considered as a temporary home for any team that relocates to Los Angeles until Farmers Field opens in 2016.

Leiweke said they are looking at whether the Coliseum or the Rose Bowl could accommodate an NFL team.

He said that AEG will perform a full environmental impact report - with no exemptions from the California Environmental Quality Act - although it is seeking state legislation to protect it from frivolous lawsuits challenging the study.

Among the NFL teams who are known to be considering a move are the San Diego Chargers, Minnesota Vikings, Buffalo Bills and Jacksonville Jaguars. No announcement is expected until after this season.

The MOU is non-binding but provides a framework for the future discussions, which includes construction of the West Hall replacement first, a coordinated booking schedule and the requirement that a professional football team sign a long-term lease.

AEG wanted the MOU as a way to demonstrate to the NFL and team owners that there is political support for the project as it provides a rough outline of future agreements.

Miller said the next step for the city is for its working group of different agencies to develop the final agreements with AEG.

Go to the TOP

---

LA council approves deal for NFL venue

JACOB ADELMAN , Associated Press
8/10/11

The developers seeking to build an NFL stadium in downtown Los Angeles were granted a City Council endorsement today that they had long stressed was necessary to prove to league officials that their plan has public support.

Anschutz Entertainment Group president and chief executive Tim Leiweke said that the council's 12-0 vote in favor of a framework deal on the project's funding and timeline sends a strong message to the NFL that the city is behind the proposal for a 72,000-seat NFL stadium on the city's convention center campus.

"Today proved we have a vision (and) they're behind it," he said. "We just got through the politics."

The agreement anticipates the issuance of $275 million in tax-exempt bonds for the relocation of a convention center hall to accommodate the proposed $1.2 billion football venue known as Farmers Field. It would require AEG to extend a series of financial guarantees over the course of the project as a safeguard against shortfalls and other risks.

The Los Angeles council members are set to take up the additional binding votes over the next nine months, with groundbreaking on the new venue possible as early as June.

"This is not the beginning of the end but perhaps the end of the beginning," Councilman Eric Garcetti said before the vote was taken.

Sports management mogul Casey Wasserman, an early collaborator with AEG on the stadium proposal, praised the council's decision in a statement.

"This is a long process, but today marks a step forward in reaching our larger goal," he said.

NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said in a statement after the vote that the league was aware of the council vote and would continue to monitor all stadium developments in the Los Angeles area.

The firm's stadium plan is one of two competing proposals to bring professional football back to Los Angeles some 16 years after the Rams and Raiders left the nation's second-largest market.

Warehouse magnate Ed Roski's Majestic Realty Co., which also has not yet secured a team, has permits in place to build a separate 75,000-seat stadium about 15 miles east of Los Angeles, in the city of Industry.

John Semcken, a Majestic vice president, said in a statement after the vote that its proposal would be a better choice for the NFL.

"We are more active than ever and are currently working with the league, owners and teams to bring a franchise back to Los Angeles," he said.

Leiweke dismissed Semcken's remarks as "a statement of desperation."

He said Semcken's claim that the Industry project would generate more money and jobs was unfounded, but cited a Los Angeles city analysis of the downtown project that found that it would generate $410 million in city taxes over 30 years.

He also said he expected to come to an agreement soon with state lawmakers that would grant his project protection from lawsuits over the environmental clearance process it must follow under California law.

State lawmakers granted an exemption in 2009 that nullified a lawsuit over the environmental review of the Industry proposal. Leiweke said he was committed to completing the full process, but that he needed protection from what he characterized as frivolous legal challenges once it is complete.

"We're going to need some protection from the crazies," he said.

AEG officials plan to break ground on the stadium by June if they secure a team before then - and if council members approve the project's financing, leasing arrangements, environmental clearance and other details.

Leiweke said he was sympathetic to city officials' wish to have the team use the Los Angeles Coliseum as its temporary home until the 2016 season, when Farmers Field would be complete.

But he suggested that it may be too costly to turn the aged structure into an NFL quality venue and that the Pasadena Rose Bowl, which is undergoing a $152 million renovation, may be a more likely temporary home for the future Los Angeles team.

"If there's a way to make it work at the Coliseum we will, but realistically it may be there are minimum standard issues at the Coliseum that we are unable to get past and certainly with the Rose Bowl's renovation, that may be the more likely site," he said.

Go to the TOP

---

NFL return to L.A. clears another hurdle

SCOTT M. REID, OC Register
8/9/11

LOS ANGELES – In adopting the non-binding framework of a deal with the Anschutz Entertainment Group to build a $1.1 billion downtown stadium, the Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday sent a message to a National Football League that has grown frustrated with Southern California’s political landscape over the past 16 years that the nation’s second largest city is ready to do business.

By voting unanimously to approve a memorandum of understanding with AEG on the construction of Farmers Field and replacing the Los Angeles Convention Center’s West Hall, the city council not only sent a clear signal to the NFL’s league office and owners’ suites, but also shifted the dynamic in AEG’s bid to bring the NFL back to the Los Angeles-Orange County market after a 16-year absence.

“We’ve been tough with the NFL for a decade and a half,” council president Eric Garcetti said. “We’ve said the NFL needs Los Angeles more than Los Angeles needs to subsidize the NFL, but we held our ground and today we’re coming to them saying L.A. wants football. We have a great partner willing to pay for it and that time we held out.

"They need this market. We want them to be here with one team, maybe two teams. But today I think the NFL knows Los Angeles is open for business for football. We’re going to always look out for our taxpayers, which we’ve done for a decade and a half. But we finally have a scenario in which the NFL can come back to L.A. and we welcome them with open arms.”

Although the deal between the city and AEG is not expected to be finalized until May 2012, Tuesday’s vote shifts the focus from city hall to a list of franchises most likely to relocate to Southern California. AEG president Tim Leiweke said he expected an NFL team to be playing in a temporary home at either the Rose Bowl or Coliseum by the 2013 season at the latest, with Farmers Field scheduled to open in time for the 2016 season.

Colorado billionaire Philip Anschutz would own a share of and even a majority interest in the first team to relocate to Farmers Field, Leiweke said.

“As we’ve said, if it means we have to buy an entire team we’re prepared to look at that,” Leiweke said. “Phil wants bring a team back here now.”

Leiweke said in order for the Farmers Field deal to work financially for AEG, Anschutz must reach a deal with an NFL team similar to the one Anschutz has with Lakers majority owner Jerry Buss. AEG owns Staples Center and Anschutz owns roughly one-third of the NBA club.

“The economics are such that building a stand-alone stadium and just being nothing more than a landlord does not work,” Leiweke said.

Conventions, Sports and Leisure, a Dallas-based consulting firm hired by the city to examine the economic impact of the AEG project, has told city officials that the final price tag on the NFL’s return to Los Angeles could reach $3 billion for AEG. CSL has also projected a 6.7 percent rate of return for AEG on its investment, a figure that Leiweke did not dispute on Tuesday.

“He’s in the ballpark of rate of return if you were building the stadium and everything went perfect,” Leiweke said referring to CSL director of sports services Bill Rhoda. “The only way this works is the Lakers model where we have to have equity and have the upside of that equity in order to justify that investment.”

AEG and city officials do not expect to have any difficulty in enticing one or two current NFL franchises to Los Angeles. Leiweke confirmed to the Register in June that AEG has had talks with team officials in San Diego, Jacksonville, Minnesota, St. Louis and Oakland with the blessing of NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. Buffalo and San Francisco also have unresolved stadium issues.

“I think up until now we’ve been pursing them,” Leiweke said of NFL franchises considering a move to Los Angeles. “My guess is that game will change a bit. I can envision a team in place playing in a temporary facility in the next two years. I think that is very possible and probable. It’s certainly something we’re prepared to be a part of.

“We’ve been talking to everyone all along. Everybody we talked to always said, ‘You know we love the city, we love the fans, we love what you’re doing. It’s fantastic your company is going to step up and pay for it all but, we just don’t believe you’ll ever get it done with the city.’

"Today proved we have a vision, they’re behind it. So I think it will set off a course of action here where there will be teams and owners that cannot find a solution in their own marketplace, they’re going to want to get in line here.”

Tuesday’s vote follows a series of failed attempts to bring the NFL back to Southern California after the Raiders and Rams left the market following the 1995 season and a growing frustration within the league with local government officials. NFL officials said Tuesday the league would continue to monitor developments in Los Angeles.

“What has always occurred up ‘til now is the politics,” Leiweke said. “Today is the first day in 16 years we just got through the politics.”

The MOU between AEG and the city calls for the company to finance a stadium with a roof that can also be used for conventions, concerts and other events like the NCAA Final Four. The initial AEG proposal called for a retractable roof.

Leiweke on Tuesday would only commit to the stadium having a roof. Replacing the West Hall will require $275 million in bonds. Of that amount, $195 million will be a city obligation. Fifty-six percent of the debt service on the city’s $195 million in bonds will be covered by AEG’s ground lease for the stadium. The remainder will be paid for from new tax revenues.

Citing its potential economic impact and creation of jobs, council member Jan Perry called the project “One of the largest and most significant (economic) opportunities we will have in our lifetime.”

Both city and AEG officials stress that despite the symbolism of Tuesday’s vote, the deal is far from done. AEG still has to complete an environmental impact report. City officials said they expect that report to be completed by December and Perry said AEG will have to address major traffic concerns. AEG also faces competition from a similar stadium project in the City of Industry backed by developer Ed Roski’s Majestic Realty.

“Our stadium proposal will generate more money, jobs and long-term success for the region and the NFL. We are more active than ever and are currently working with the league, owners and teams to bring a franchise back to Los Angeles,” John Semcken, Majestic vice president, said in a statement Tuesday.

Leiweke said AEG would drop its plans for a stadium if Majestic is able to land an NFL team first, but added he hoped Roski, a partner with Anschutz on Staples Center, would join forces downtown.

“I would hope if Ed wants to bring the NFL back to LA he’d get behind our project,” Leiweke said.

Yet despite the competition from Majestic, the daunting task of completing the EIR, the prospect of lawsuits on a number of fronts, and the $50 million price tag on designs of six different facilities related to the Farmers Field project, Leiweke couldn’t help but feel like AEG had already cleared perhaps its biggest hurdle.

“I feel like we have been a vote of confidence,” he said. “We’ve been handed a city that has hope and a vision for bringing the NFL back to L.A. I think there are large expectations from the unions and the trades, there are large expectations now from the city and the council and they’ve put their faith in us.

"So I feel now more like the fullback because we have heavy lifting and we’re certainly not in the red zone yet, but I think today was the best step we’ve taken to date to bring the NFL back to L.A. and I think it sends a very strong message to the NFL owners: We did it, we were unanimous. … So I think this was a really good day because in 16 years we’ve never made it this far down the field.”

Go to the TOP

---

LA council passes AEG's stadium plan

Arash Markazi, ESPNLA
8/9/11
VIDEO http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nfl/story/_/id/6847826/la-council-passes-aeg-plan-farmers-field

LOS ANGELES -- In perhaps the biggest step Los Angeles has taken in 16 years of trying to bring the NFL back, the city council unanimously passed the financial framework of an agreement between Anschutz Entertainment Group and the city to build Farmers Field, a $1.2 billion football stadium and events center in downtown Los Angeles.

The 68,000-seat roofed stadium would be attached to a new $275 million wing of the Los Angeles Convention Center next to the Staples Center, which is also owned and operated by AEG.

The "memorandum of understanding," a non-binding agreement, only needed a simple majority to pass but was approved by all present council members at Los Angeles City Hall to the delight of a standing room only crowd, which cheered after the vote was announced.

"This is a significant project for our city and it will bring football back to this city," said councilwoman Jan Perry, the committee chair on the proposed stadium and events center. "This sends a very clear message we are serious about bringing football back to Los Angeles."

An actual deal with the city is still about 10 months from becoming a reality, with the completion of an environmental impact report not expected until the spring. AEG is hoping to begin construction on the project in June 2012, with Farmers Field opening in September 2016.

AEG and Farmers Insurance Exchange announced the naming rights deal for the stadium in February.

The agreement states construction on the project cannot begin until an NFL team has signed a long-term lease to play in Los Angeles. That means an NFL team could be playing in the Coliseum or the Rose Bowl as early as next season if AEG begins construction on the project this summer.

"It sends a very strong message to the league now," AEG president and CEO Tim Leiweke said at a news conference after the vote.

NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said in a statement after the vote that the league was aware of the council vote and would continue to monitor all stadium developments in the Los Angeles area.

Last week, the council committee on the stadium and convention center unanimously endorsed the deal, setting the stage for Tuesday's vote.

AEG has already commissioned design drawings for the new Pico Hall of the Los Angeles Convention Center and Farmers Field and will begin discussions with the city next month on a definitive deal.

By the end of May, AEG wants to be done with the environmental impact report, entitlement process and have a binding deal with the city so construction can begin on the Pico Hall, as well as two new parking structures AEG will construct and operate on city-owned land on Cherry Street and Bond Street. AEG has agreed to finish these projects before beginning construction on the stadium.

If construction of the Convention Center and parking structures begins sometime in June, those buildings are expected to open sometime in the summer or fall of 2013, at which point the West Hall of the Convention Center would be demolished and construction of Farmers Field would begin on the site, with September 2016 being the targeted opening date.

The biggest difference between the original deal AEG proposed in January and the current proposal is the cost of the Convention Center expansion and the bonds needed to build it. In January, Leiweke had hoped the city would float $350 million in bonds to help finance the reconstruction of the Convention Center with AEG promising to repay them with revenue from the stadium. The cost has now been whittled down to $275 million, which will be paid for by tax-exempt bonds. Approximately 73 percent of the bonds would be covered by AEG and the other 27 percent would be covered by new tax revenues generated by Farmers Field.

"To be very clear, there is no public money in the stadium, none," said chief legislative analyst Gerry Miller, who negotiated the deal for the city with city administrative officer Miguel Santana. "We are not financing the stadium, we're not giving any land breaks on the stadium and they're going to pay a market-rate land lease. There's no public money in this stadium."

There is a competing stadium project spearheaded by real estate developer Ed Roski's Majestic Reality Co. to build a 75,000-seat stadium in the City of Industry, about 15 miles east of Los Angeles. The project has had permits in place to begin construction for nearly two years but the group, like AEG, has yet to secure an NFL team. Both groups would need a deal with an NFL team before construction can begin.

John Semcken, a Majestic vice president, said in a statement after the vote that its proposal would generate more money and jobs and be a better choice for the NFL.

"We are more active than ever and are currently working with the league, owners and teams to bring a franchise back to Los Angeles," he said.

The team most commonly linked to moving to Los Angeles is the San Diego Chargers, which began as the Los Angeles Chargers at the Coliseum in 1960. They have tried unsuccessfully for nearly a decade to get a new venue to replace 45-year-old Qualcomm Stadium. The Chargers can announce their intentions to leave San Diego between Feb. 1 and May 1 of each year through 2020 if they pay off bonds tied to the expansion of Qualcomm Stadium in 1997, which would be about $24 million.

The Chargers are one of five teams, along with the St. Louis Rams, Jacksonville Jaguars, Oakland Raiders and Minnesota Vikings, with whom Leiweke has had conversations about relocating to Los Angeles.

Casey Wasserman, the founder and CEO of Wasserman Media Group, who is partnering with AEG on the Farmers Field project, commended the unanimous vote.

"I commend the Los Angeles City Council. ... Their support of Farmer's Field is another victory in our effort to bring professional football to Los Angeles, and further AEG's commitment to enhancing the local economy. This is a long process, but today marks a step forward in reaching our larger goal."

Go to the TOP

---

Leiweke Hopes to Break Ground on Stadium by June

Jon Regardie, Downtown News
Published: Tuesday, August 9, 2011 4:48 PM PDT

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — A lot could go wrong in the next 10 months, but if everything goes right, Anschutz Entertainment Group will break ground on the Downtown football stadium/convention center expansion on June 1, 2012.

That was what AEG President and CEO Tim Leiweke said this afternoon following the City Council’s unanimous vote to approve a non-binding memorandum of understanding on the deal between the city and the developer.

The council’s 12-0 vote marked a significant, if not defining point, in AEG’s effort to erect a $1.1 billion, 64,000-square-foot stadium where the site of the Convention Center’s West Hall now stands. The deal calls for the West Hall to be razed and replaced with a new hall contiguous to the main convention building.

The agreement with the council calls for the city to float $275 million in bonds. Nearly three quarters of that would be covered by AEG, with the remainder coming from revenues generated by the project.

“No one thought we’d get this far,” Leiweke stated. “Here we are today.”

Leiweke previously said that AEG has been meeting regularly with the NFL and has had conversations with about a half dozen teams regarding moving to Los Angeles. Today, he said that he expects a team will be playing here in a temporary facility — either the Rose Bowl or the Coliseum — within two years, but possibly sooner. Franchises including the San Diego Chargers, Jacksonville Jaguars and Buffalo Bills are seen as the most likely candidates to come west.

In any deal, Leiweke said, Phil Anschutz would have partial ownership of the franchise. He said the deal does not work financially without that.

Leiweke said an announcement about a franchise in Los Angeles would not occur until, at the soonest, the end of the upcoming NFL season. Although an environmental impact report is expected to be completed early next year and the city and AEG could sign a binding deal soon after, Leiweke said no construction will occur until there is an agreement with a franchise.

“We’re not going to push dirt until we have a team in place,” he said.

Leiweke classified the council vote as a game changer, predicting that it would transform Los Angeles from a city pursuing a franchise to a location desired by multiple teams. Despite his enthusiasm, the league has not publicly endorsed the Downtown stadium proposal, and has also talked openly about a competing plan in the City of Industry being propelled by Ed Roski, who was Phil Anschutz’s partner in Staples Center.

Leiweke said the focus now shifts to multiple fronts, including creating designs. AEG has hired Gensler to be the architect for Farmers Field, while Populous will handle the convention work; the convention replacement would be the first element of the project to break ground.

Additionally, he said the company is working with lawmakers in Sacramento regarding challenges to the project. An unlikely opponent to the stadium has come in the form of Texas businessman Billy Bob Barnett, who convinced some state lawmakers to introduce legislation that could be a hurdle to the project. Barnett has had conflicts with AEG in that state.

AEG, said, Leiweke, needs “some protection from the crazies.”

Leiweke said AEG intends to do a full environmental impact report and is not seeking an exemption from California Environmental Quality Act standards. Instead, he said, the discussions with state lawmakers are intended to “make sure people can’t stop this project with a frivolous lawsuit.”

Leiweke said that AEG has spent about $15 million on the project. In June, he said that the company expects to spend $45 million on the effort by next spring.

Go to the TOP

---

Roski's right-hand man: More "active" than ever in bid to buy an NFL team for Los Angeles

Thomas Himes, SGVT
8/9/11

The men behind plans to build an NFL stadium in Industry said they're working harder than ever to lure a team back to the area.

After more than two years of efforts that were stalled by the league's lack of a collective bargaining agreement, Real estate magnate Ed Roski's Jr.'s plans to buy an NFL team are in high-gear.

"We are more active than ever and are currently working with the league, owners and teams to bring a franchise back to Los Angeles," Roski's right-hand man, John Semcken said.

The uptick in activity comes as California prepares to cut redevelopment agency funds, creating potential problems for NFL teams that are bidding for a new stadium.

The San Diego Chargers, Oakland Raiders and San Francisco 49ers are eligible for a move to another city based on their stadium lease agreements.

Those three teams play in three of the oldest stadium in the NFL - something that could spur them to relocate if they don't receive a sweet enough deal on a new stadium.

A statement on the San Diego Chargers' website pointed out the potential for funding problems created by the state's decision to slash redevelopment agency funding.

"Building NFL stadiums in California was tough to begin with... and now, the job just got much tougher, because of the redevelopment law changes," according to the Charger's July 30 web post.

Roski's proposed stadium won't be affected when the cuts, because the endeavor is privately funded, Roski's Project Manger Taylor Talt said.

"We've had multiple investment banks look at our project and they've all said it's easy to finance," Talt said.

Go to the TOP

---

Hey Raiders, don't even think about moving back to town

Bill Plaschke, LA Times
August 9, 2011

I hate to interrupt the ticker-tape hug between city officials and AEG in the wake of Tuesday's agreement to build a downtown football stadium and bring the NFL back to Los Angeles, but ...

There is a group out there who could ruin all of this.

There is a group who could show up at Farmers Field dressed in havoc, bearing chaos and portending dread.

They are not neighborhood protesters, they are the sort that neighborhoods protest against. They are not environmentalists or economists, but, quite the opposite, they tear up the grass and take your money.

Hey, Oakland Raiders, if you are reading this, can you heed but one word from one man who was among many who celebrated in the summer of 1995 when you finally dragged your hack-and-silver act out of town?

Don't. Don't come back. Don't even think about coming back. Don't.

You are not welcome here, you are not wanted here, and if you can't see that, then you've been wearing that patch over both eyes.

I don't care how many Southland fans fill the local airport on autumn Sunday mornings for the legendary peanut-fight-filled Southwest Airlines caravans to Oakland. I don't care that, even with silver spikes occasionally sticking out of their heads, they are mostly good folks and tenacious supporters.

When it comes to the Los Angeles sports landscape, they are in the vast minority. This may still feel like a Raiders town, but, with a gleaming new stadium and dignified new hopes, this is a town that can no longer support the Raiders.

The NFL is thrilled that Tuesday's agreement appears to pave the way for the eventual return of two teams here. The NFL is excited that the clear leading candidate for the first slot is the San Diego Chargers, a team with Los Angeles roots and a decent south Orange County and Inland Empire fan base.

But the NFL is also quietly worried that the eternal opportunists known as the Raiders are circling and swooping and waiting for a chance to dive in and make a mess of everything.

What happens if, after a year of negotiating a difficult deal that will require concessions on both sides, AEG cannot come to an agreement with the Chargers? What if nobody on the minuscule list of other possible teams — Jacksonville, St. Louis, Buffalo, Minnesota — is prepared to move that soon?

What if Tim Leiweke finds himself with the money and approval to build a stadium but nobody is available to play there? When all hope is lost, when the only other option is the destruction of a dream, when the night is blackest and the fears are greatest … it's Raiders time!

Al Davis, who never wanted to leave Los Angeles in the first place and has always envisioned a joyful return, would suddenly look like Jerry Jones. Leiweke might suddenly feel he has no choice or, worse yet, be filled with the lofty notion that he could actually rebrand the Raiders. The league could attempt to block the move, but when has anybody truly stopped the Raiders from doing anything?

Here they come, and there it goes, Farmers Field becomes the Black Hole and in five years the NFL is failing here again.

The league is smart to be afraid, very afraid.

"The NFL will be the biggest thing in Los Angeles when it starts, it will be jumping off a huge springboard," said Marc Ganis, president of SportsCorp, a Chicago-based sports business consulting firm that has had numerous dealings with NFL teams. "But the real fear at the very highest levels of the league is that it could go downhill fast."

Because Ganis works with so many teams, he was reluctant to cite specific names, but his message was clear.

"If the situation is not managed well, there is going to be a real problem," he said. "You have to get the right team, the right economics, the right marketing plan and, if not, history has shown that even the great initial elevation will not be enough to save the situation."

The Raiders are Los Angeles' only professional football team to win a Super Bowl, in 1983, the highlight of their 13-year stay here. But the lowlights were many, with gangs adopting their colors and thugs roaming their stands and crazy Coliseum tailgate parties that once included the cooking of a dog.

The atmosphere got so ugly, "Raider Fan" became a euphemism for every rogue and rascal in town. Somebody cut you off in traffic? Raider Fan. Somebody talking too loud in the movie theater? Raider Fan. The recent spate of violence at Dodger Stadium? Who else? Everybody blamed it on Raider Fan.

The moniker is often unfair, of course, because 95% of Raiders fans are just good football fans who simply like to wear foreboding colors. But perception became reality, and the Raiders did little to distance themselves from it.

If they came back to Los Angeles, there is no reason to believe the Raiders would change their colors — literally or figuratively. But it is the possibility of their return that has the NFL holding its breath, even as AEG was letting out a sigh.

"A successful team in Los Angeles is not a slam dunk by any means, and everyone knows why," Ganis said. "Implementation is key, it's got to be managed properly, the team will need to be among the league's top revenue producers to break even, every aspect of the business operation has to work well."

And for that to happen, the Los Angeles Raiders can never again happen.

Just don't, baby.

Go to the TOP

---

Behind united front, L.A. shows NFL it is now a serious player

Vincent Bonsignore, Daily Nes
8/9/11

For years now, Los Angeles has been to the NFL what a ditzy beauty is to a movie producer.

Pretty enough to stop traffic, but too discombobulated to remember what time the audition is, let alone memorize her lines.

The city's inability to get its act together politically and financially squandered opportunity after opportunity to bring football back to the City of Angels, and for nearly two decades we watched smaller cities like Jacksonville, Charlotte, Nashville and Houston land NFL franchises rather than L.A.

The problem was us, not them.

The NFL desperately wanted to be here, we just weren't ready for the NFL.

That all changed Tuesday when the City Council voted unanimously to endorse a Memo Of Understanding with Anschutz Entertainment Group on its downtown events center project.

The decisive vote did more than give Philip Anschutz peace of mind to push forward on his company's grand $1.3 billion plan to renovate the Convention Center and construct the 72,000-seat Famers Field adjacent to Staples Center.

It also delivered a powerful message, one that echoed all the way to a skeptical office at 280 Park Avenue in New York City.

Los Angeles is no longer that scatterbrained wannabe actress.

It now has the financial will of a powerful billionaire coupled with a united political front, buoyed by a supportive public.

For the first time in 15 years, we are all finally on the same page.

"This shows we can absolutely get things done here," councilman Eric Garcetti said.

So NFL, say hello to Kate Upton meets Meryl Streep.

Have we got your attention now?

Thought so.

"This is a huge deal for the NFL," a prominent team executive said Tuesday.

More like a game-changer.

As quickly as you can say down, set, hut, a handful of NFL teams struggling to build stadiums in their current cities will begin auditioning to be the team, or teams, to call Los Angeles home.

And instead of trying to convince the NFL to come back to L.A., we can sit back and let the NFL woo us.

The San Diego Chargers, Minnesota Vikings, Oakland Raiders, San Francisco 49ers, St. Louis Rams, Jacksonville Jaguars and Buffalo Bills all face uphill battles to build new stadiums or have unstable fan support in their home cities.

Each is a candidate to move to Los Angeles, and with the city now firmly united with AEG to build a viable stadium, all of them will now take us seriously.

And eventually one or two of them will make the move here, the first arriving as early as the 2012 season and playing at the Coliseum or Rose Bowl until Farmers Field opens in 2016.

"What that vote did," the NFL executive said, "is make it less about Los Angeles trying to secure a team to now a race among teams competing to be in that market."

One that will commence immediately.

"It will happen pretty quickly," the executive said.

And why not?

Who wouldn't want to take up residence in the second-biggest market in the country - in a brand-new stadium they don't have to invest a dime in - while playing in front of football-thirsty fans who have waited 16 years for a team to call their own.

Even when you take into account the cut of the team they'd have to sell to Anschutz and the $300 million to $500 million fee they'd have to pay fellow owners for the right to relocate, some team still stands to make millions by coming here.

Just think of the relocation fee as the money they would have put toward a new stadium - without the debt service - and a small price to pay to reap all the obvious financial advantages a city the stature of Los Angeles offers.

"The return on that investment, for that market, is going to be substantial," the NFL executive said. "When you think about how much more money you can generate for your sponsorships and your suites and club seats and sponsorship packages, they are quadruple in that market compared to smaller markets.

"So on one hand, its money you don't have to actually put in a stadium, and on the other, it's the obvious return you get on the investment, which will be substantial."

AEG president Tim Leiweke smiled when that was relayed to him Tuesday.

For a year now, Leiweke has been courting prospective teams and the NFL, trying to sell them on his crazy idea to build a downtown football stadium.

And get this: he was going to get city politicians to jump on board.

Cue the laugh track.

"Everybody we talked to always said, we love the city, we love the fans, we love what you're doing, and it's fantastic your company is going to step up and pay for it all," Leiweke said, "but we just don't believe you'll ever get it done with the city."

That all changed Tuesday, the City Council voting 12-0 to move forward.

And with it, a bit of role reversal occurred.

"Up till now, we've been pursuing (the NFL)," Leiweke said. "My guess is that game will change a bit."

Make no mistake, the pressure is now squarely on Leiweke and AEG to bring this thing home.

That means making good on its financial promises, delivering an acceptable environmental report and figuring out a way to tear down part of the convention center and rebuild it while also constructing the actual stadium.

"We have some heavy lifting to do," Leiweke said.

Having said that, all you have to do is look at Staples Center and L.A. Live to understand that when Leiweke and AEG put their efforts toward something, it usually gets done.

And after clearing a huge hurdle Tuesday, you have to figure the momentum will now carry them over the goal line.

"This was a good day," Leiweke said.

Meanwhile, the NFL is taking notice.

Go to the TOP

---

Which NFL Team Should Be L.A.'s?

Nancy Wride, The Patch.com
August 9, 2011

When the Los Angeles City Council voted 12-0 today on a $1.2-billion agreement to build a downtown football stadium, the implication for local football fans was immediate: Who will Southern California football fans be rooting for in the next decade?

“Fan loyalty won’t be automatic,” said Larry Strawther, editor of localsports.biz, a sports news site devoted to Los Alamitos, Seal Beach and Rossmoor. “Whoever comes is going to have to earn it.”

When the Rams used to practice in Long Beach, many Long Beach, Rossmoor and Los Alamitos residents worked for the club, and there are a lot of longstanding Ram fans in the area, said Strawther.

While it’s likely to be at least five years before fans see an end-zone dance in Los Angeles, there is sure to be a lot of behind-the-scenes action in the meantime. Los Angeles will need approval from most team owners around the league, and the division of revenue from game broadcasts and jerseys will have to be negotiated, said Strawther. Of course, the big question for most people is whether an existing team will move to Los Angeles or a new team would be created, he said.

The L.A. council voted in favor of non-binding agreement with developer Anschutz Entertainment Group to build the stadium, as well as a new city convention hall and two parking structures on municipal land.

The project includes the demolition and replacement of the 40-year-old West Hall of the Los Angeles Convention Center. AEG officials hope to have the 72,000-seat stadium adjacent to L.A. Live and Staples Center completed in time for the 2016 football season.

"This is a significant project for the future of our city, and it will bring football back to Los Angeles,'' said Councilwoman Jan Perry, who chairs a council committee charged with vetting the stadium proposal.

The vote clears the way for AEG to begin arranging financing to pay for the stadium and to conclude an ongoing environmental impact report, which the developer hopes to have approved by May 2012. It also allows AEG to advance negotiations with the NFL to bring a team to Los Angeles. An announcement is unlikely until after the Super Bowl in early 2012.

"I feel like we've been handed a vote of confidence,'' AEG President
and CEO Tim Leiweke said. "Today was the best step we've taken to date to bring the NFL back to L.A., and I think it sends a very strong message to the NFL owners. "In 16 years, we've never made it this far down the field.''

The approval marks a shift from a conversation about how the project
will be funded to a debate over the finer points of the proposal, which could mean more or less cost to taxpayers.

Those finer points could make for some divided loyalties for Orange County fans. When Orange County lost the Rams and Los Angeles lost the Raiders, it hit millions of local football fans like a punch in the gut. In the years since, Orange County football fans have learned to live with far-flung loyalties—the Oakland Raiders, the St. Louis Rams, the Trojans, the Bruins. But those loyalties could be tested depending on what the new local team turns out to be.

TELL US WHAT YOU THINK IN THE COMMENT BOX

1. What team would you like to have playing in L.A.: San Diego, Minnesota, Buffalo, Jacksonville, St. Louis or Oakland?

2. Do you want an NFL team back in Los Angeles? Do you even miss it?

3. Are you likely to buy tickets to watch the NFL in L.A., or do you figure the costs will be out of your price range?

Go to the TOP

---

NFL to L.A.? The seven wonders

Arash Markazi, ESPNLosAngeles.com
August 9, 2011

LOS ANGELES -- Now that the Los Angeles City Council has passed the financial framework of a deal between Anschutz Entertainment Group and the city to build Farmers Field, a $1.2 billion football stadium attached to a remodeled Los Angeles Convention Center, one of the next big hurdles before construction can begin is actually getting an NFL team to Los Angeles.

AEG wants to begin construction on the project June 1, 2012, after getting past the environmental impact report and entitlement process next spring. The agreement between AEG and the city, however, requires that an NFL team sign a long-term lease to play in Los Angeles before construction can begin.

Two teams might end up playing at Farmers Field when it opens in 2016, but only one team needs to agree to come to Los Angeles by May 2012 for construction to begin on time. There are seven teams with stadium issues currently in the running for relocation (the NFL has ruled out expansion), so who will that first team be? Who might that second team be? The answers, or at least some educated guesses, can be found below.

San Diego Chargers

- Lease: The Chargers can announce their intention to leave San Diego between Feb. 1 and May 1 of each year through 2020 if they pay an early termination fee tied to the bonds used to expand Qualcomm Stadium in 1997, which would be about $24 million after the 2011 season.

- Ownership: Chargers owner Alex Spanos, who will turn 88 in September and suffers from dementia, is currently looking to sell a minority stake in the team to help with estate planning. He and his wife, Faye, own 36 percent of the team, while their four children each own 15 percent. Two minority owners own the other 4 percent.

- Stadium: For nearly a decade, the Chargers have unsuccessfully tried to build a new stadium to replace Qualcomm Stadium, which opened in 1967 and is one of the five oldest stadiums in the NFL. If this were baseball, the Chargers would have struck out years ago after plans in Chula Vista, Escondido, Oceanside and Mission Valley all fell apart before a formal plan could even be put before politicians or voters. The Chargers' latest and likely last attempt to keep the team in San Diego focuses on a stadium proposal in downtown San Diego.

The Chargers are hoping to build a domed stadium in downtown San Diego which would be a part of an expanded San Diego Convention Center. The stadium would not only house the Chargers but also be used to attract Super Bowls, Final Fours and larger conventions. If it sounds familiar, it's because it's essentially the same project AEG plans to privately finance in Los Angeles. The only difference, of course, is that the Chargers are trying to get it built with public dollars that simply aren't available.

While the Los Angeles City Council supported AEG's project Tuesday, the Chargers' last-ditch effort to get a stadium built in downtown alongside the convention center seems to be nothing more than an idea solely supported publicly by the Chargers. San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders and San Diego Convention Center board member Steve Cushman view the new stadium and expanded convention center as two separate projects. The Chargers are trying to tie the stadium to the convention center now mainly because California Gov. Jerry Brown has pledged to eliminate redevelopment funds, saying the state can no longer financially support them. The decision essentially eliminates the preferred revenue source which would have been used on the new stadium and has all but killed off whatever hopes the Chargers had of getting a stand-alone stadium built with public financing.

So the Chargers are now trying to align themselves with the $550 million San Diego Convention Center expansion, which will be paid for through a proposed hotel tax. The problem is the proposed financing plan for the convention center is not big enough to encompass an $800 million stadium which would rarely be used for conventions.

- Outlook: Not only does the Chargers' proposed stadium in downtown San Diego seem like a long shot, simply getting a public vote on the stadium in 2012, which the Chargers had hoped for, looks unlikely at this point.

The Chargers seemingly meet all the requirements to be Los Angeles' next NFL team. AEG wants to buy at least a 30 percent minority interest in the first team that moves into Farmers Field, and Spanos seems willing to sell roughly that amount. AEG needs a team to be able to commit to move to Los Angeles by May 2012 and the Chargers can get out of their lease in San Diego between Feb. 1 and May 1. The Chargers already have some history with AEG and Casey Wasserman, who is partnering with AEG on Farmers Field. Two years ago, the Chargers signed a deal with the Wasserman Media Group to help market the team in Los Angeles, and for two years the Chargers held their training camp at the AEG-owned Home Depot Center in Carson.

Minnesota Vikings

- Lease: The Vikings' lease with the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission to play in the Metrodome expires after the 2011 season.

- Ownership: New Jersey real estate magnate Zygi Wilf, 61, and a group of investors bought the Vikings from Red McCombs in 2005 for $600 million. Wilf isn't looking to sell the team, but has met with AEG president and CEO Tim Leiweke, the former CEO of the Minnesota Timberwolves. Vikings vice president of public affairs Lester Bagley has said the Vikings are solely focused on staying in Minnesota.

- Stadium: Long before the roof of the 30-year-old Metrodome collapsed last year, forcing the Vikings to play two home games at Detroit's Ford Field and then the University of Minnesota, the team has been trying to get a new home. Not only is the Metrodome one of the 10 oldest stadiums in the NFL, but the Vikings' lease with the MSFC, which was signed in 1979, is one of the worst in the league. The commission owns the stadium, and the Vikings are locked into paying rent until the end of the 2011 season.

After a decade of trying to get a new home, the Vikings claim their last chance of staying in Minnesota is tied to their current proposal to build a $1.1 billion retractable-roof stadium in Arden Hills, which was the former site of the Twin Cities Army Ammunitions Plant. The Vikings would pay for 39 percent of the project with Ramsey County and the state of Minnesota taking care of the other 61 percent of the publicly owned stadium.

The stadium is far from a done deal. Last week, Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton directed Metropolitan Council Chairwoman Susan Haigh and Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission Chairman Ted Mondale to conduct an analysis of the risks and costs associated with the site. The review is expected to take 30-40 days. If all goes well, Dayton could call a special session this fall, possibly in September or October, to hammer out a deal. If they can come to an agreement, the Vikings could be playing in their new home by 2015.

- Outlook: Getting a new stadium hasn't gone as smoothly or as quickly as the Vikings would like, but after the Minnesota Twins moved into Target Field ($545 million) last year and the University of Minnesota football team moved into TCF Bank Stadium ($289 million) in 2009, both using public funding, it seems unlikely Minnesotans would now derail their beloved Vikings from getting a new home after what happened to the Metrodome last year. The Vikings might use Los Angeles as leverage, but it seems unlikely they will join the Lakers as purple-and-gold-wearing teams from Minneapolis now playing in L.A.

Buffalo Bills

- Lease: The Bills' lease with Erie County to play at Ralph Wilson Stadium expires after the 2012 season, but the Bills can announce their intentions to leave Buffalo after the 2011 season, between Feb. 28 and July 31 of 2012, if they pay an early termination fee of $2 million.

- Ownership: Bills owner Ralph Wilson, who will turn 93 in October, has no plans to sell the team. He also has no known succession plan but has previously stated he plans to have the team auctioned to the highest bidder when he dies.

- Stadium: Ralph Wilson Stadium, which opened in 1973, is the seventh oldest stadium in the NFL, just behind Kansas City's Arrowhead Stadium. Even though the Bills' lease is coming to an end and the stadium is outdated, there are no specific new stadium proposals.

As long as Wilson is the owner of the Bills, the team will stay in Buffalo and play in the stadium named after him, but the future of the team is uncertain. It seems unlikely the team and the city will be able to finance a new stadium, which would likely cost more than $1 billion. A more likely scenario would be a renovation of the current stadium. A $375 million renovation of Arrowhead Stadium was completed in 2010 and partially funded by the NFL. - Outlook: Considering Wilson's age, Buffalo's market size and an expiring lease in an aging stadium, the Bills will always come up in relocation talk. The NFL, however, would like the team to stay in Western New York. Not only do they have more than 50 years of history in Buffalo, but they serve as the league's tie to Canada without actually having a Canadian franchise. In 2008, the Bills agreed to play eight home games over five seasons in Toronto. The Bills appear to be safe in Buffalo for now, but with an uncertain future after Wilson, that could change at any point.

Oakland Raiders

- Lease: The Raiders' lease to play at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum expires after the 2013 season.

- Ownership: Raiders owner Al Davis, who turned 82 last month, has no plans to sell the team and has said full control of the team will be assumed by his wife, Carol, and his son, Mark, when he dies.

- Stadium: Amazingly, the Raiders left one decaying Coliseum in Los Angeles for another decaying Coliseum in Oakland 16 years ago and are still stuck there. The Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum is the fourth-oldest stadium in the NFL, and while it has gone through five name changes, it has seen few structural changes since the Raiders returned to Oakland in 1995 after a 13-year stint in L.A.

There have been proposals in the past for a new stadium in Oakland, but the focus these days seems to be on a joint stadium in Santa Clara with the 49ers (see below). The problem is that Al Davis wants the team to remain in Oakland, near the site of the Coliseum and the team's headquarters in Alameda. Even if he can get past the stadium's location, something will have to be done about the red-and-gold color of the facility in recent artist renderings, which doesn't quite mesh with the team's silver-and-black mystique.

- Outlook: If they want to stay in the Bay Area and play in a new stadium, the Raiders and 49ers might have to team up to make it happen, which is something NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has suggested they do for some time while pointing to the New Meadowlands Stadium, with the New York Giants and Jets, as an example.

Virtually every new sports venue in the country includes some form of public financing, which is almost impossible to achieve in California. There's a reason why three of the five oldest stadiums in the NFL and Major League Baseball are in California and why Los Angeles hasn't had a new football stadium built since the Coliseum and Rose Bowl broke ground in 1921 and opened in 1923.

No matter what happens with the Raiders, it is safe to say their move back to Oakland in 1995 hasn't been as fruitful as expected. Since returning to the Bay Area, 83 of the Raiders' 128 home games have been blacked out on TV after failing to sell out, and they have gone 37-91 over the past eight seasons.

San Francisco 49ers

- Lease: The 49ers' lease was set to expire after the 2012 season, but the team renewed its lease this year, which will keep the Niners at Candlestick Park at least through the 2014 season, at which point they can opt out.

- Ownership: Jed York was named the 49ers' president and CEO earlier this year while his parents, John and Denise, remain on as the team's co-chairs. There are no plans to sell the team.

- Stadium: As iconic as Candlestick Park may be to old 49ers fans, it is the third-oldest stadium in the league behind Soldier Field and Lambeau Field. Considering both of those venues have received major facelifts in recent years, it wouldn't be a stretch to call Candlestick the oldest in the league as it was originally constructed in 1960. Although the San Francisco Giants moved into a new stadium of their own back in 2000, the 49ers, who won five Super Bowls in the city, still can't find financing for a new home.

The 49ers' newest plan is to build a $987 million, 68,500-seat stadium next to the Great America theme park in Santa Clara. In June 2010, voters in the Silicon Valley city signed off on a plan to have the city and area hotels contribute $114 million to the project. The 49ers have raised $138 million in suites sales. Needless to say, they have some work to do before they can begin construction in 2013 and open the stadium for the 2015 season, as Jed York has hoped.

That's where the Oakland Raiders come into play. The Raiders need a new stadium, too, and the NFL has encouraged both teams to work together to make the financing of a Bay Area stadium work. The league has also committed to help fund the two-team stadium as it did for the Giants and Jets with the New Meadowlands Stadium, which got $300 million from the league's stadium fund.

- Outlook: It's unlikely the 49ers would leave San Francisco and their stadium proposal has picked up steam since the end of the lockout. The team has a website devoted to the new stadium with pictures and videos and recently unveiled a scale model during a Santa Clara news conference. York seems to think the team will have the financing in place to start construction in 2013; whether that will include a partnership with the Raiders remains a lingering question.

St. Louis Rams

- Lease: The Rams can get out of their lease agreement with the St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission after the 2014 season if the Edward Jones Dome doesn't receive significant improvements by then. It is currently one of the league's older venues.

- Ownership: Billionaire Stan Kroenke, a 63-year-old Missouri native who lives in Denver, became the majority owner of the St. Louis Rams last year for $750 million. In order to become the majority owner after being a minority owner since the Rams moved to St. Louis in 1995, Kroenke agreed to turn over operational and financial control of the Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche to his 30-year-old son, Josh, and give up his majority stake in the teams by December 2014. NFL rules prevent owners from owning major league franchises in other pro football cities. Kroenke is a longtime friend and business partner of fellow Denver billionaire Philip Anschutz, and AEG's Leiweke has admitted to having conversations with the Rams.

- Stadium: Simply put, anything outside of a new stadium would make it impossible for the Edward Jones Dome to rank among the league's top facilities. Getting public funding for such an expensive undertaking in St. Louis, which is still paying off the original construction debt of the Dome, is highly unlikely.

The St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission has until Feb. 1 to give the Rams a preliminary proposal for how it plans to give the Dome "top-tier" status. The Rams can either agree to the offer a month later or reject it and make a counteroffer by May 1, which is the most likely scenario. The commission can then either agree to the counteroffer by June 1 or reject it and go to arbitration. If such a scenario unfolds, the lease could be voided and the Rams could rent the Dome on a year-to-year basis or choose to move elsewhere.

- Outlook: There is no way the Edward Jones Dome, no matter how many refurbishments, will be on par with the over $1 billion stadiums built for the Cowboys, Giants and Jets. So the question is can St. Louis afford to build a $1 billion domed stadium on par with those facilities? Probably not, so Kroenke will have to decide if he wants to stay in a subpar facility in St. Louis or get involved with his old friend Anschutz and return the Rams and their 50-year history in Los Angeles back home.

It seems the chances of the Rams getting a new stadium in St. Louis are as remote as they are for the Chargers in San Diego. Having the Chargers and the Rams relocate to Los Angeles would be the most ideal scenario for the league, which would like to see one AFC West team and one NFC West team move to Los Angeles (preferably with Los Angeles ties) so the geography of the current divisions still work and each of the conference's television broadcasters (currently CBS and FOX) will get a team in the country's second-biggest media market.

Jacksonville Jaguars

- Lease: Despite making the most sense to relocate considering its market size and low attendance figures, the Jaguars' lease is the longest and hardest to break of the seven prospective teams. The Jaguars' lease to play at EverBank Field runs through the 2029 season, and if the Jaguars wanted to leave before then, they would be required to prove they had lost money in three consecutive seasons or convince a local judge that the city was failing to properly maintain the stadium. The odds of any NFL team losing money in any year, let alone three consecutive years, or a judge allowing the local NFL team to leave town are remote. Of course, leases can usually be broken for a negotiated price, but it seems the penalty would be too steep considering the other candidates available on this list.

- Ownership: Wayne Weaver, 76, has been the owner of the Jaguars since their first year in 1995 and has no plans to sell the team.

- Stadium: EverBank Field opened in 1995 and has quickly gone from one of the league's newest stadiums to one of the oldest after 21 new stadiums were built for 22 teams beginning in 1995. The stadium, however, isn't the issue. It's the fan support in Jacksonville. After a five-year honeymoon period after the team's debut, when they were a perennial championship contender, the Jaguars have won only one playoff game since 1999. They have failed to make the playoffs the past three seasons and the team has had a hard time selling tickets while covering up empty sections of the stadium to avoid blackouts.

- Outlook: As long as Weaver is the owner of the Jaguars, he has reiterated the team will remain in Jacksonville. Not only does Weaver want the team in Jacksonville, he structured the lease in such a way that makes it impossible for the Jaguars to leave before 2029.

Go to the TOP

---