February 1st was a big date for the San Diego Chargers, Minnesota Vikings, and St. Louis Rams. Those fanbases can rest a bit easier as Roger Goodell has gone on the record now saying he'd like to keep the 32 franchises where they are. With respect to Farmer's Field in Downtown LA, that means NFL in LA will likely happen via an expansion franchise; or perhaps two.
"We probably don't want to go to 33" Goodell said in an interview Thursday night with Bob Costas. This means that an LA expansion team would have to come with a buddy. This would be to alleviate scheduling problems, and might mean two expansion teams kicking off in LA. Surely there's enough income in LA to support two teams, but it'd be interesting how they tried to differentiate themselves in marketing.
If there were two teams granted to Los Angeles, that would likely mean one placed in the NFC and one in the AFC. LA fans might not be so quick to don the home colors, and early years could see more Raider fans in Farmer's Field than LA expansion fans. Still, you have to expect the respective marketing departments to try and ram their message across and compete for season ticket holders.
However, while all these leases expiring has created a sense of urgency, don't expect the NFL to drop everything to be in LA:
"We would like to be back in Los Angeles if we can do it correctly," Goodell said. Which means a stadium built, not just planned.
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JasonLaCanfora Goodell says with labor and tv security in place that's a runway for a possible team there. Also says Super Bowl could come back to Indy 2/3/12 8:38 AM |
Security was stressed throughout the talk. While there's always the possibility one of the LA potentials could move, and the expansion teams split between LA and the city that just lost it's team (think MLB after the Dodgers moved), it seems in Goodell's ideal world, there's a little bit of calm after what has been a bit of a stormy time.