Albert Breer article on possible team moves to LA

[Mark Long Beach]

LA is big. It has a fair number of hardcore fans of all the local teams, but because of its size WAY more bandwagon type fans. But there are still large swaths of Raider fans and even Rams fans here. Many bars still won't show the Raider games because of too rowdy fans. Some of the larger sports bars have a seperate area just showing the Raider games. My local bar devotes half the space to Raider games, and the Raiders haven't been in LA for 18 years. (they were only here for 12)

 

A local LA team WILL get support, but it'll take time (and better yet success) for it to become as supported as the Lakers/Dodgers/Angels, etc. There are a LOT of transplants here, and the ones that still follow their old team don't care about a local one (Go BILLS!).

[PromoTheRobot]

And that's true about the majority of people who live here too. BTW, the Chargers (named for the Hilton Hotel charge card) and the AngkIels were also "born" here. And wouldn't the world be a less happy place without another LA creation, Roller Derby?

Oops on the Angels.

 

PTR

[Wayne Cubed]

I havn't heard any news about this topic lately but they were trying to build a new stadium down by Petco park. It makes sense the city has a bus maintenance depot they would vacate for the stadium. They can share the parking structures from Petco. This plan seemed to be gaining speed, have you heard differently?

From the articles I've read, Spanos and Mayor Sanders just aren't seeing eye to eye on the stadium. And each year it cost 2-3 million less for Spano to break the lease with the city and move. Now, obviously things could change if this stadium never gets built in LA or something like Minnesota happens. And in the end this could all just be Spanos pounding his chest to force the cities hand, but who knows.

[OCinBuffalo]

Hardly a whiff of truth in this entire statement. Through good years and bad, the LA Rams were one of the top box office draws in the league. Same for the Dodgers. Same with the Lakers. The reason the Rams moved had little or nothing to do with fan support and everything to do with the typical NFL scam of wringing governmental (aka, local taxpayer) money out of the yokels who somehow came to believe that having an NFL franchise made their city instantly an elite one. LA, then Anaheim, refused to go along with the strong-arming while St. Louis couldn't wait to hand Georgia Frontiere bushels of money. Now that those conditions are changing in St. Louis, Rams ownership is looking longingly westward yet again (The Rams were originally a Cleveland team).

So, when I said, poor political environment...uh...yeah.

As to the Raiders, the fall off in attendance had more to do with the sort of crowd they attracted than anything else. Gameday at the Colisseum came to look more like the Yard at San Quentin than a football game. Bloods, Crips, 18th Street, bikers, they were all there and all about as close to out of control as you can imagine. BTW, the Raiders still have a huge fan base in LA, and not all of them have teardrop tattoos.

 

The Dodgers, who haven't been to a World Series since 1988, continued to draw three plus million a year until last year, when the fans finally had enough of the greed of Frank McCourt and the increasingly Latin-ized, crude and dangerous crowds who were making up a goodly part of that 3 million attendance.

Then, when I said, look at the fan problems with crime...you said the above, not me....uh...yeah.

My personal take on the NFL in LA is that most of the people I know are fine with things the way they are. No blackouts, no huge traffic jams on Sundays, no tax money going to billionaires. Besides, an awful lot of people here are from somewhere else, including enormous numbers from Taiwan, China, Korea, Iran, Armenia, Thailand, Russia, India, Israel and every Latin country in the western hemisphere. What they have in common is little to no interest in American football. As to the Americans, loads of us come from other parts of the US and tend to still support our old "home" teams. That leaves a fairly small base of natives, many of whom still carry the torch for the Rams and the Raiders. As far as I can tell, the only people enthusiastically supporting NFL teams in LA are the sport reporters, the land developers and the construction unions. The rest of us could care less.

How the F is that not = to me saying "LA is an inferior sports town that is bandwagon at best, and too self-involved to associate themselves with anything if it isn't always winning"?

 

Dude, go back and re-read what I wrote, and then what you wrote....and tell me how we aren't saying the same thing.

 

You said there wasn't a whiff of truth...and then proceeded to confirm everything I said, in some cases word for word.

[Formerly Allan in MD]

The Raiders probably make the most sense for LA, especially with Al Davis no longer around. LA would likely make it very attractive for them to move there and the league would probably not strongly object since the Bay area would still have the 49ers.

 

No one knows for sure and it certainly wouldn't be publicized, but Wilson may already have a contingency agreement with local interests for the Bills to be sold to them at his passing. It could even be a mandate to his daughter in his will.

 

Got to think positive because the alternative is too difficult to contemplate.

[BillnutinHouston]

When did they announce that plan?

 

The statement you quoted from my original post was in Breer's article. It wasn't my assertion.

[You herd it hear last]

To me, the answer is very simple: it's going to be the Raiders and Chargers sharing one privately funded stadium in L.A. within the next 5 years.

Do you think they would be okay with 2 afc teams in the same city?... I don't know... maybe realignment?

[Shoutbox]

Do you think they would be okay with 2 afc teams in the same city?... I don't know... maybe realignment?

 

It wouldn't be ideal. I suppose the ideal scenario for the league would be the Raiders and the Rams back in L.A., with Khaaaaaaaan! then moving the Jags to St. Louis. But I don't think the St. Louis community will allow the Rams to leave, nor do I think Khaaaaaaaan! can move the Jags even if he wants to do so. Second-best league scenario is Raiders and Chargers in 1 privately funded L.A. stadium.

[Spun]

Give L.A. an expnasion team along with either Portland, Oklahoma City or San Antonio.

 

Circle the wagons.

[Bruce]

Dude, I think all of these 'Bills to LA' posts need to stop.

 

It's not going to happen.

 

Everyone points to one factor, maybe two, and that is the end of their factual info. One, they point to Mr. Wilson getting close to not being the owner anymore and just naturally conclude that they will move because, two, the WNY region is economically strapped.

 

Now, both points are valid, but there is alot more that goes into this type of thing.

 

I have said, and will continue to say, that selling out the stadium is a much bigger contributor than the region. When I lived in FL, I went to a couple of Bills/ Jags games. As can be found in alot of road games, there are alot of Bills transplants. Jacksonville had approx. 1/4 of the stadium Bills fans. Tailgating felt like being in Buffalo. But Jacksonville actively blocks out entire sections of their stadium EVERY game because they can't sell out. They also don't enforce their blackout rule, because if they did no one would see the games and it would only serve to hurt their marketing even more. The Bills sell out most of the time, and NEVER block out sections with a tarp because they can't sell out.

 

That fact, and THAT fact alone, tells me that Jacksonville would be the first team to move to LA. Jacksonville has some economic success, but it ain't Texas, folks. They'd move.

 

St. Louis is also not the most supportive city, and the Rams have not been competitive since Vermeil left. They'd be my #2 choice to move.

 

The Charges and Raiders, sound an awful lot like posturing more than anything factual.

 

I think I would say the same thing about Minnesota; but I would put them as a #3 candidate to move. If I'm not mistaken, they're trying to posture for a new stadium, too.

 

Jags and Rams as the 2 realistic ones.

 

And I don't know what anyone owning an NFL team would want with LA, anyways. I lived there for 5 years, and I understand the media component, but the Raiders and Rams were both there at one point, and both left (Raiders did it twice).

 

People just don't go to games. They'd need a new stadium, as part of the problem was that the LA Coliseum housed 100,000 fans, and they couldn't sell 70,000 on a regular basis. There are just too many distractions in LA, and the weather is soooo sweet 10-11 months of the year that people do other things.

 

Nobody even knows that the Kings exist. The Dodgers are nothing major in the area. The only team garnering fan attention on a consistent basis are the Lakers. As much as LA would seem like such a logical choice to expand, I don't think that a team would stay there past 6-7 years as there just is not the fan base.

 

Plus, LA is a tremendously transient area, and not too many people that live in LA are actually from LA. These fans usually follow their home teams (as I did with the Bills and Sabres), so this would not help an LA team, either.

 

Just my 2 cents...

 

Hardly a whiff of truth in this entire statement. Through good years and bad, the LA Rams were one of the top box office draws in the league. Same for the Dodgers. Same with the Lakers. The reason the Rams moved had little or nothing to do with fan support and everything to do with the typical NFL scam of wringing governmental (aka, local taxpayer) money out of the yokels who somehow came to believe that having an NFL franchise made their city instantly an elite one. LA, then Anaheim, refused to go along with the strong-arming while St. Louis couldn't wait to hand Georgia Frontiere bushels of money. Now that those conditions are changing in St. Louis, Rams ownership is looking longingly westward yet again (The Rams were originally a Cleveland team).

 

As to the Raiders, the fall off in attendance had more to do with the sort of crowd they attracted than anything else. Gameday at the Colisseum came to look more like the Yard at San Quentin than a football game. Bloods, Crips, 18th Street, bikers, they were all there and all about as close to out of control as you can imagine. BTW, the Raiders still have a huge fan base in LA, and not all of them have teardrop tattoos.

 

The Dodgers, who haven't been to a World Series since 1988, continued to draw three plus million a year until last year, when the fans finally had enough of the greed of Frank McCourt and the increasingly Latin-ized, crude and dangerous crowds who were making up a goodly part of that 3 million attendance.

 

My personal take on the NFL in LA is that most of the people I know are fine with things the way they are. No blackouts, no huge traffic jams on Sundays, no tax money going to billionaires. Besides, an awful lot of people here are from somewhere else, including enormous numbers from Taiwan, China, Korea, Iran, Armenia, Thailand, Russia, India, Israel and every Latin country in the western hemisphere. What they have in common is little to no interest in American football. As to the Americans, loads of us come from other parts of the US and tend to still support our old "home" teams. That leaves a fairly small base of natives, many of whom still carry the torch for the Rams and the Raiders. As far as I can tell, the only people enthusiastically supporting NFL teams in LA are the sport reporters, the land developers and the construction unions. The rest of us could care less.

 

I agree with your last paragraph, but don't see how the post you quote is way off base.

 

When I lived in LA, the Lakers were it. And only it. I went to some Kings games, and based on the horrific lack of coverage in the LA Times and by the comatose state of the "fans", you wouldn't even know that LA had a hockey team. Dodgers were lukewarm, at best.

 

And the reason why LA couldn't sell out the Coliseum had nothing to do with the crowds...it had everything to do with the fact that the place seated 100,000. No team, with the exception of maybe the Cowboys, is selling out 100,000 seats on a continuous basis.

 

Most people in the area are transients, and follow their own home town team.

 

It's a seasonal, fickle fan base that only wants to follow a winner. And when they can put the mirror down to stop looking at themselves.

Edited May 15, 2012 by Bruce

[Fan in San Diego]

From the articles I've read, Spanos and Mayor Sanders just aren't seeing eye to eye on the stadium. And each year it cost 2-3 million less for Spano to break the lease with the city and move. Now, obviously things could change if this stadium never gets built in LA or something like Minnesota happens. And in the end this could all just be Spanos pounding his chest to force the cities hand, but who knows.

 

Speak of the devil. A new article on the stadium in San Diego. Mayor Sanders has stalled out.

 

UT article link

[RealityCheck]

The notion of the Bills moving to LA has been and will remain science fiction. I typically refrain from threads pertaining to the Bills moving but it's the same old BS time and time again. The idea that a new owner will purchase the team and have enough ammo. to move the team while building a brand new stadium in our ever worsening economic climate is just not going to happen. Of course, if you accept the Toronto series as a necessity then you might think I'm the delusional one.

[Best Player Available]

Give L.A. an expnasion team along with either Portland, Oklahoma City or San Antonio.

 

Circle the wagons.

Portland in the AFC West is OK in my book. Probably a potential

fanbase that would buy into a team. A younger somewhat transient

population would concern the NFL bean counters though.

 

Texass has enough teams.

[BillnutinHouston]

Give L.A. an expnasion team along with either Portland, Oklahoma City or San Antonio.

 

Circle the wagons.

 

Having lived in San Antonio, I'd say you can cross them off your list. It doesn't have NFL-caliber demographics (has lots of people but it's not a wealthy town), is a dyed-in-the-wool Cowboys' town, and any proposed team for SA would be fought tooth and nail by Jerry Jones who claims it as part of his market.

[Canks]

I can see Syracuse getting a team if they can retrofit their skychiefs stadium to accomodate more central ny big wigs

[Spun]

Having lived in San Antonio, I'd say you can cross them off your list. It doesn't have NFL-caliber demographics (has lots of people but it's not a wealthy town), is a dyed-in-the-wool Cowboys' town, and any proposed team for SA would be fought tooth and nail by Jerry Jones who claims it as part of his market.

 

 

I can see Jerry Jones doing that. In fact, he probably already is fighting a San Antonio franchise. I do believe Jerry wants a team in L.A. which should provide more money for Jerry. A two team expansion including L.A. would take the pressure off of all the "target teams".

[Spun]

Hardly a whiff of truth in this entire statement. Through good years and bad, the LA Rams were one of the top box office draws in the league. Same for the Dodgers. Same with the Lakers. The reason the Rams moved had little or nothing to do with fan support and everything to do with the typical NFL scam of wringing governmental (aka, local taxpayer) money out of the yokels who somehow came to believe that having an NFL franchise made their city instantly an elite one. LA, then Anaheim, refused to go along with the strong-arming while St. Louis couldn't wait to hand Georgia Frontiere bushels of money. Now that those conditions are changing in St. Louis, Rams ownership is looking longingly westward yet again (The Rams were originally a Cleveland team).

 

As to the Raiders, the fall off in attendance had more to do with the sort of crowd they attracted than anything else. Gameday at the Colisseum came to look more like the Yard at San Quentin than a football game. Bloods, Crips, 18th Street, bikers, they were all there and all about as close to out of control as you can imagine. BTW, the Raiders still have a huge fan base in LA, and not all of them have teardrop tattoos.

 

The Dodgers, who haven't been to a World Series since 1988, continued to draw three plus million a year until last year, when the fans finally had enough of the greed of Frank McCourt and the increasingly Latin-ized, crude and dangerous crowds who were making up a goodly part of that 3 million attendance.

 

My personal take on the NFL in LA is that most of the people I know are fine with things the way they are. No blackouts, no huge traffic jams on Sundays, no tax money going to billionaires. Besides, an awful lot of people here are from somewhere else, including enormous numbers from Taiwan, China, Korea, Iran, Armenia, Thailand, Russia, India, Israel and every Latin country in the western hemisphere. What they have in common is little to no interest in American football. As to the Americans, loads of us come from other parts of the US and tend to still support our old "home" teams. That leaves a fairly small base of natives, many of whom still carry the torch for the Rams and the Raiders. As far as I can tell, the only people enthusiastically supporting NFL teams in LA are the sport reporters, the land developers and the construction unions. The rest of us could care less.

 

Interesting perspectives. There are a lot of things changing in L.A. L.A. does have some cool things going on culturally. I love the variety of ethnic food in L.A. and there are some beautiful women! However, it true that a sizable part of the population in L.A. is very dangerous. That fact ruins the fun for a lot of people. Raiders games were not USC games. Whenever the Dodgers visit San Diego, many of their fans come to the games. Typically, too many of their twenty-something y.o. male fans get very drunk, very fast. It is funny at first until the fights start. The cops usually have to start throwing people out in the early innings. This is at baseball games! As for Raider and Charger games, it is more of the same with fights and yes, in the past there have been stabbings. They do want to put the new stadium in downtown L.A. not suburban Pasadena. The stadium will be built and L.A. will get a team. They just better leave the Bills alone. I know what it is like to be on the losing side of a franchise shift (the Buffalo Braves). I hate franchise shifts. I prefer expansion.