Dennis RomeroDespite big plans and grid-iron dreams in downtown Los Angeles, the NFL has held talks with the new owners of Dodger Stadium about hosting football there in the future.
That according to SportsBusiness Daily, which says that, after no teams expressed interest in moving to the nation's second-largest media market despite a recent NFL deadline, the league has decided to ” take a more active role again in getting a team to Los Angeles.”
What about Anschutz Entertainment Group's Farmers Field plans for DTLA?
The report says there could be some unease about the fact that AEG has put itself up for sale and is now reviewing a second round of bids.
According to SportsBusiness, some potential buyers might be put off by the un-built stadium's $1 billion valuation for a company believed be worth possibly $8 billion (AEG owns LA Live, Staples Center, London's 02 Arena, part of the Lakers, MLS' L.A. Galaxy and concert promoters that include AEG Live and Goldenvoice).
Credit: tenaciousme / Flickr
AEG says that Farmers Field has its blueprints and city approvals in-hand and is ready to go.
In the city of Industry, Ed Roski's Majestic Realty, which helped develop Staples, has its own “shovel-ready” project: Los Angeles Stadium.
SportsBusiness' take on that:
Roski's site, meanwhile, while only 20 miles outside Los Angeles, is considered by many unglamorous and difficult to access.
Majestic says its project is central to urban Southern California, equidistant to downtown and urban Orange County — and it has plenty of parking for tailgating.
Dodger Stadium is not exactly ideal. Some note that its environs are dense with residential neighbors. It does have acres of parking — enough, even, to build a whole new NFL stadium on the same site.
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