The gold rush is back in California. Three teams in the National Football League are madly rushing toward Los Angeles, hoping to get a piece of the second-largest American city. On the surface, it seems ludicrous the NFL has been without a franchise in a market like Los Angeles. When you dig deeper, it begins to make sense.
On Thursday, the San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders announced a joint proposal to move to Los Angeles, per the Los Angeles Times. The teams are looking at sharing a stadium in Carson, Calif., a suburb of the City of Angels. The project would be privately funded on 168 acres. Both franchises are giving their current cities a deadline of the conclusion of this year for deals to materialize. Otherwise, they are looking to skip town.
Then there are the St. Louis Rams. Owner Stan Kroenke has already announced plans to build an 80,000 stadium where Hollywood Park once was. St. Louis has expressed a desire to keep the Rams in town, but the city has not been overly supportive from a fan base standpoint since the team showed up in 1995. In their defense, the team has stunk for a decade.
For the Rams and Raiders, a move to Los Angeles would mean a reunion.
In 1946, the Cleveland Rams were coming off a championship. Still, owner Dan Reeves wanted the glitz of Los Angeles and got his wish, giving the NFL its first West Coast franchise. Until 1979, the Rams stayed in Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum before moving to Anaheim. Despite being a perennial playoff team and Super Bowl contender, the Rams failed to sellout the massive 100,000-seat venue on a consistent basis.
The Raiders showed up in 1982, coming from Oakland after then-owner Al Davis tangled with former commissioner Pete Rozelle in a bitter legal dispute over his right to move the team. Los Angeles never fully embraced the Raiders, often leaving Davis with the embarrassment of sparse crowds. This despite the Raiders were often contenders as well, including a 1983 championship. Davis packed up and left town the same year the Rams abandoned Anaheim (still named Los Angeles) in 1994.
In 1994, the attendance figures for the Rams was a brutal 43,312 per game. It was clear the team, and perhaps professional football, had run its course.
It’s fair to say that a good team and a beautiful new stadium would help drum up NFL interest in Los Angeles. Before, both the Raiders and Rams played in an outdated college venue, something that would not be an issue this time around. Still, Los Angeles has never been a great, or even good, sports town.
Los Angeles is a city of great weather, a million things to do and transient residents. There is not the strong local ties there as seen in Kansas City, Green Bay, Pittsburgh and Detroit. Sure, the Dodgers draw well now because the team is superstar-laden, but it was a ghost town before Magic Johnson showed up, even in good years. The same can be said for the Kings of the NHL.
It’s an understandable gamble by the three franchises and the NFL. If it works, the league and those teams stand to make a ton of profit.
Still, don’t be surprised if they end up packing their bags again, sooner rather than later.
