NFL Returning To LA? Maybe

By Mitch Chortkoff

Sports Editor

After many years of rumors about the National Football League returning to Los Angeles it’s easy to dismiss such talk now.

But one of these years an NFL may move here, after all.

NFL sources say the teams are paying more attention to Los Angeles now because they saw that $2 billion was paid by Steve Ballmer to buy the Clippers.

The feeling is that if that kind of money is being poured into LA they’d be glad to get some of it.

Three teams are believed to be at least exploring the possibility of coming to LA – the Chargers, the Rams and the Raiders.

Rumors about the Chargers have been heard for many years but insiders believe that’s only to create leverage in the Chargers obtaining a new stadium in San Diego.

The Rams, who left Southern California when they got a better deal in St. Louis, appear to be in the market to move again. The Rams’ owner has purchased land in the former area of Hollywood Park, apparently to build a stadium.

The Raiders want a new stadium in Oakland. Currently, the only stadium where football and baseball are both played is the Oakland Coliseum, and that’s not good for either Oakland team. So, leaving Oakland is an option for the Raiders.

Most NFL talk about Los Angeles centers around a stadium being built in downtown LA. I go to Laker and Clipper games and witness the growth in that area, including LA Live across the street from Staples Center.

Frankly, it’s terribly crowded already and I can’t picture a Sunday when an NFL team would play in the afternoon and an NBA game would be played at night. Or worse, if the NBA had a playoff game around noon, something that frequently happens during the playoffs, traffic would be unbearable.

Magic Johnson, the former great Laker who has become part owner of the Dodgers, attended a mid-week practice recently when the Raiders were one of the participants.

I wondered what he was doing there until friends reminded me that Johnson is an aggressive businessman, always willing to explore options.

The more evidence that turns up about the possibility of the NFL moving back here the more I believe it could happen.

We’ll have to wait and see.

If a team does move here it would probably play in the Rose Bowl until a new stadium is built.

So the traffic snarl in downtown lA is most likely five years away.

Thank goodness.