The NFL has long been trying to return a franchise to Los Angeles after the city lost the Rams and the Raiders over the years, but the plan has hit a major snag, as sources say the AEG downtown stadium plan is on life support.
According to Yahoo Sports and NBCSports.com, the plan to bring the NFL to Los Angeles is fading, despite the L.A. city council voting unanimously to support Anschutz Entertainment Group's stadium proposal. The courses say that the concept is not one of the NFL's top priorities and is "essentially dead" to the league due to economic factors.
"The numbers just don't work, no matter how you look at the deal," a league source said in February. "It's either too hard for AEG to make money [and pay the debt on the stadium] or too hard for the team. I just can't see a way for it to work."
AEG has been spearheading the efforts to get the stadium built and its proposed area would be called Farmers Field and would be in the downtown area next to the Staples Center. The NFL officially said that they are monitoring the situation, but sources say the deal is dying fast.
"We continue to monitor the AEG situation and remain interested in multiple sites in the Los Angeles area," NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said in a statement.
The proposed plan by AEG would build the stadium near the Staples Center in the space that has the convention center and would require a full renovation of the area. The plan has been developed over the past few years and after it was approved by the city, it appeared as though all that was needed was an NFL team to move.
"I think there are many major, if not fatal, flaws in the AEG plan and it's surprising the Los Angeles political leadership has not picked up on it from the NFL," said Marc Ganis, president of Sports Corp and a man who served as an adviser to both the Rams and the Raiders when those teams relocated from Los Angeles.
AEG president Tim Leiweke has said that the company would consider changing the plan and has been in contact with the NFL about working on a team to move to the city. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has expressed some reservations about the project and since no NFL team would be moving to the city for 2013, it could be years before anything is done.
Outgoing Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has pushed the AEG plan and the city council voted 12-0 in favor of it last year. One of the larger issues involved is the sale of AEG, which has been on the market since October and could see between $6 and $8 billion.
The teams that were rumored to be moving last year were either the Jaguars, Vikings or the Rams, but Minnesota has decided to stay put, as they are building a brand new stadium. The Rams may still return to the city, while the Jaguars have been committed to staying in Florida.
