It might be time for the informal list of teams that could fill the 13-year hole in Los Angeles to be expanded by one. Maybe two.
With the San Francisco 49ers moving slowly toward their goal of gaining a new stadium, residency in Ed Roski’s “If They Come I Will Build It” venture on the outskirts of the City of Angels becomes a possibility.
Bill Soliday of InsideBayArea.com wrote the story that we’ll summarize in superficial, sound-bite-seeking fashion right here.
John Semcken, a Roski partner who is in charge of the project, was tight-lipped regarding the situation. “We are not at liberty to talk about which teams we are or are not talking to,” Semcken told Soliday.
In our view, the list of franchises that could relocate to L.A. include, loosely speaking, the Vikings, Saints, Chargers, Jaguars, and Rams. (We’ve removed the Bills from our unofficial list because they seem to be destined to move to Toronto, or to at least split time between Ontario and Buffalo.)
Though Semcken wouldn’t talk specifically about whether the Niners are one of the teams that could make the move, he implied that the San Fran franchise has yet to commence discussions by addressing the possibility that, if the 49ers wait until after November 2008 to commence discussions, it might be too late.
“I would say if they were not ready to talk to somebody until after that, they would be behind the 8 ball,” Semcken said.
Another possibility for the L.A. stadium is the other Bay Area team — the Raiders.
“No comment” is all that Semcken would say about the team owned by Al Davis, which is probably the safest course as to any matter relating to the unpredictable organization currently located in Oakland.
So who will make the move, if anyone? If we had to guess, we’d say that the Vikings will eventually join their purple-and-yellow predecessors who have done fairly well for themselves as the predominant basketball franchise in Los Angeles after leaving long ago the land of 10,000 lakes.
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June 1st, 2008 at 10:50 am
Re: the Niners … there’s a ballot measure to be voted on Tuesday (Prop G) that would clear the way for a new stadium to be built.
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June 1st, 2008 at 10:51 am
Cool, and it would match the seat colors of the stadium. We all know how they love their purple in LA.
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June 1st, 2008 at 11:25 am
That is sad, but quite possibly true. The only good thing about the Vikings moving to L.A. is I would not have to put up with local black outs. I hope the Vikings dont move. But without state commitment Im afraid its inevitable. Own Zigi Wilf promised as owner he would not move the Vikings out of Minnesota. But that does not mean that he would not sell his share of the team. Im sure the other co-owners are getting tired of haveing to dig in thier pockets and then see zero return. These people are business people who got rich because they make good business decisions, And will continue to make decisions that help thier bottom line.
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June 1st, 2008 at 11:26 am
Monster Park is a dump…The 49ers suck however, every game is sold out. If the 49ers where to move someplace other than SF or Santa Clara,that would not be a wise move $$$.
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June 1st, 2008 at 11:42 am
You’d be hard pressed to find many football fans here in LA that would welcome the Niners. The Raiders are a different story.
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June 1st, 2008 at 11:43 am
I say the Jags should go. Despite having a very good team for years they can’t seem to legitimately sell out there stadium.
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June 1st, 2008 at 11:46 am
The San Francisco 49ers are not going to L.A. Anyone who suggests such is probably not very intelligent.
If that miraculously does happen, come back to this posting and make fun of me.
But.
It’s not going to happen. Not even a long shot.
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June 1st, 2008 at 11:47 am
I would love to see the St. Louis Rams move to LA. Rekindle that rivarly in the NFC West. St. Louis vs. San Francisco just doesn’t sound as enticing as the LA Rams vs. the San Francisco 49ers.
I can’t see the Niners moving to LA, not under York or any owner for that matter. If Dr. Yorkshire Pudding were ever to sell, and he never will, it would be to a group with serious interest in the 49er franchise (Eddie D, or a group backed by Steve Young). I doubt an ownership group of that sort would do it.
York’s already tried to play hardball with the city, with the scare factor of Santa Clara. He doesn’t have the stones, or the brains, or to pursue an LA venue.
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June 1st, 2008 at 12:09 pm
I would highly doubt that a team with as “rich” a history as the Niners would be moved..thats slightly under moving the Cowboys from Dallas or the Steelers from Pitt. The Vikings remain a possibility as long as their quest for a new stadium continues to get its pegged leg caught in a knothole.
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June 1st, 2008 at 12:26 pm
The only team that should relocate to LA is the Jaguars. They have a very decent program there, but the people of J-ville ignore them and they never sell out. I don’t like the Jags a bit, but they deserve better and Los Angeles Jaguars has a decetn ring to it. They are only interested in NASCAR in Jacksonville.
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June 1st, 2008 at 12:44 pm
does anyone remember why teams left l.a. in the first place? because fans did not come to the games! blame it all on the stadium if you like but even when faced with the teams moving they did not care and did not show up.sure a new stadium would be nice and attract fans for a few years but what happens in say 10 years when the newness has worn off and the team isn’t winning?like I said before I live in the midwest and no football fan I have ever talked to mentions how much they miss having a team in L.A. persoanly I hope every town being blackmailed into giving rich owners a new stadium votes it down, what are those owners going to do?right I can see the owners allowing 6-7 teams to move. if that happens say goodbye to the league as people won’t be watching it like they do now.
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June 1st, 2008 at 1:31 pm
Perhaps they’ll go with what the angels did with their name when they called themselves the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The 49ers can call themselves the San Francisco 49ers of LA - But that would be the worst name change idea since the Angels called themselves the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
But really….You simply cannot allow the saints to be taken away from NO. If it weren’t for the saints the New Orleans area may still be suffering from Katrina. That team was the only thing that took the minds of those victims off of that tragedy.
If you take the Bills away from buffalo then that city has nothing. Have you ever been to Buffalo? its like hell on earth frozen over.
You want to take the 49ers and move them to LA?…Listen, there is only a few things a straight guy can do in San Francisco and going to see a football game is one of them. For the sake of the few straight guys left in San Fran please leave the team there!
Moving the rams and Raiders back to LA…wouldn’t that have defeated the purpose of them moving away from that city in the first place?
Both the Chargers and Vikings have young teams, with strong fan followings. And both these teams stars are rising in the NFL. I would like to see the fans who have followed these two team faithfully get the payoff if they say… made it to or actually won a super bowl.
The only team that I can truly see moving to LA would be the Jaguars. And even that I have a problem with.
A real good idea in my opinion, would be for two new expansion teams to enter the NFL. One being in LA and the other being in toronto/Ontario.
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June 1st, 2008 at 2:16 pm
Expansion will not happen, MidnightGreenOmen. Everything is in too perfect a balance now. Basically, theres nowhere for a new team to go. All 8 division’s have 4 teams. If you add 2 where do they go? AFC East and NFC West? Then how do you schedule? It would be a huge nightmare.
And to those saying that the teams left LA for a reason… this isn’t 1995 anymore. The NFL is MUCH MUCH bigger now than it was just 10 years ago. It somehow appeals to a much broader market now. I think you’d be surpised. Jacksonville gets my vote, but then you’d have to move them to the AFC West and move the Chiefs to the AFC South. That would work I suppose.
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June 1st, 2008 at 2:34 pm
For all the talk about the Jaguars not putting people in seats, there are 9 other NFL teams who put fewer people into seats for their home games.
Granted, for most of those teams, it was in part due to limited seating capacity. But nobody in their right mind should act like putting 65,000 fans in seats every game is somehow completely deficient, because that’s just dumb.
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June 1st, 2008 at 4:02 pm
Look the 49ers will eventually have to build a stadium in or near San Francisco. Santa Clara 49ers, that sounds like a pop warner football team name.
If everyone is thinking about the freeways in Santa Clara making better access to a stadium there. There nuts. That area has terrible traffic. I can see a Monday night game there with everyone arriving an hour late.
Move to L.A. the Raiders should go back there. Their fans in Oakland followed them there and with all the latin gangbangers in L.A. they could were the Raider colors while beating each other before and after the game. The 49ers would not attract any fans there.
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June 1st, 2008 at 6:41 pm
As a Packers fan, I would be quite sad if the Vikings moved.
Chargers or Raiders make a lot more sense, but I guess I am biased.
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June 1st, 2008 at 7:53 pm
The buzz around Westwood is that more than a few people would be quite excited to go see an offense that features two Bruins (Jags).
Not to mention that they’d also have a much better shot at winning every weekend than the current Bruins do.
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June 1st, 2008 at 9:13 pm
What the NFL needs to look out for is a repeat of the domino effect that caused “franchise free agency” back in the ‘80s and ‘90s. Teams left Baltimore, St. Louis, Cleveland and Houston, and said cities pushed hard and successfully for new teams. If expansion is off the table, and I agree that it is for the foreseeable future, then some city is going to lose a team in order for Los Angeles to get one. The question is, what team can move to L.A., and leave the lightest footprint on the NFL?
Vikings – Forget it. Minneapolis, a large market with faithful fans, would immediately become the threatened destination of every team seeking a better stadium deal, and of teams in smallish markets. Some team would eventually go, and the domino effect starts again.
Saints – Could be, but as it has oft been said, a move any time in the near future would be a public relations nightmare, given what this New Orleans has been through.
Rams – The L.A. connection is obvious, but this city has lost a pro football team once, and isn’t likely to let it happen again. If it did, they would make every effort to lure another.
49ers – Big market, great tradition. See Vikings.
Jaguars – The Jags have been around for a comparatively short time, so leaving Jacksonville would not leave the footprint on the NFL like a Vikings or ‘Niners exit. For a team that has generally been quite good throughout its brief history, this club should draw better. Probably the second best option, NFL-wise.
Raiders – The bay area has the 49ers, so no domino effect is likely to occur if the Raiders split town again. The Silver and Black have a tremendous fan base, but the reality is that they have been mostly mediocre or worse since returning from Los Angeles, and still have a tremendous following in So. Cal., where they played when they last won a championship. The Raiders back to L.A. leaves the lightest footprint.
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June 1st, 2008 at 10:55 pm
@culturalelite, did you fall down some stairs?
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June 2nd, 2008 at 12:18 am
I hope the Niners don’t go to LA, that would be tragic. It’s the San Francisco 49ers, end of story.
The Raiders are the best choice to return, if any team does.
Florio floated the idea of having LA host a few games each year, which could work. And having games there gives the message that LA is at least as important as Ontario, London or Mexico City, even if they won’t support a full time team.
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June 2nd, 2008 at 12:32 pm
People are really stupid who keep repeating ignorance as you hear it, without putting any real research/thought into the matter.
The Saints “aint” goin nowhere. Katrina was a long time ago, a lot has happened/changed since then. Get a clue already.
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June 2nd, 2008 at 3:41 pm
“Im sure the other co-owners are getting tired of haveing to dig in thier pockets and then see zero return.”
Of course,there is no way that one could possibly tell whether anyone has seen “zero return” without a serious look at the Vikings’ financial statements. But in a league where labor expense is capped at 60% of revenues, any other business owner would leap at the opportunity to print money. If the Vikings’ owners are not profitable on their investment at this point, it would only be because they borrowed too much to pay off too high a price for the team.
But here is the point: LA does not support pro football. If the town did, there would be a team there now, because the league has tried desperately to put an expansion franchise in there for years, but no one would put up the cool billion dollars in cash that bwouold be required to pull it off.
If the NFL owners, stuck at the moment in their PR controversies over criminal players, cheating, and labor issues, elects to let an historically profitable and well-supported team such as Minnesota pull up stakes and head to LA solely because the state won’t write them a profit subsidy check for almost a billion (in the form of a publicly-funded stadium with no return on the investment going to the taxpayers), they will richly deserve the Congressional kangaroo court that will take place in the context of killing the NFL antitrust exemption.
I am a lifelong Vikings fan, but enough is enough. There has never been a public subsidy for a sports team that made sense, and thisn one is far worse than most. Red McCombs had his chance to share a new stadium wiht the UNiversity of Minnesota, and the subsidy wasn’t big enough for greedy old Red.
A pox on all their houses, and good riddance. I’ll casually watch the LA Vikings with the same detachment as I would use to watch the Buffalo Bills. But this blackmail by billionaires has got to stop somewhere, period.
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June 4th, 2008 at 6:32 pm
First off I am a huge Vikings fan and I would be pissed if the Vikings left the great state of Minnesota. I would even consider giving up on football altogether. If we give up any team let be the Timberwolves. Besides Cali doesn’t need another team.
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June 16th, 2008 at 12:53 am
lol im sorry all these teams but the vikings are not one and heres the reasons(yes im a little bias but theyll still make sense so)
1.they have alot of young players A.P TJ and stuff that will make this team good for years and they could actually win a Sb in the next few years thats long overdue.
2.the FANs they have some of the most loyal fans were some teams never get jicknames they do the purple people eaters and they got a great history in the nfl
3.Theres only one problem in them getting a new stadium they want a little to much but if wolfe keeps acting like he is hes buying up all the land were he wants to build and only 1 big building is in the way hell get that new stadium i guarantee it.
4. this is an easy one ready
Minnesota Lakers=LA lakers
Minneasota Northstars=dallas stars
you think theyd seriously screw us like this again doubt it so.
Yah any team could move there but when they do theyll be out within bout 6 years i give it cause unloyal fanbase and no big profit and theyd go back to old city but the vikings will not be the team doing it anytime soon thanx.
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