According to the New York Times, the city of Industry, Calif., (15 miles east of downtown Los Angeles) may become home to a new 75,000-seat "green", non-taxpayer funded stadium to house an existing NFL franchise in the L.A. television market, perhaps as soon as 2013.
Seven teams were cited as potential targets for a move – San Diego, San Francisco, Oakland and St. Louis (the former L.A. Rams) and Buffalo, among others.
It's easy to understand why the NFL wants in a TV market such as Los Angeles. But there's a reason those seven teams are having trouble drawing interest in their product and, thus, a new facility. The teams are simply putrid.
I can't see how a new stadium would fly. The economy is awful, especially in California. And there is no interest in professional football. That wasn't always the case, but it is now.
L.A. had two NFL teams at one time – the Rams and the Raiders. Neither is there now. There is good major college football (UCLA and USC), good high school football. Pro baseball teams (the Dodgers and the Angels), pro basketball teams (the Lakers and the .... well, the Lakers), ice hockey (the L.A. Kings) and horse racing (three tracks in the Southland) dot the landscape, too. And if none of that is appealing, there's always the beach or the mountains close by.
The NFL had its chance in Los Angeles for almost 50 years. The product deteriorated. The teams on the short list to come into the market really wouldn't help.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger can huff and puff all he wants. But he can't change the overall apathy towards the NFL. It's quite strong.
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