The state of California gave the city of Los Angeles the green light on Tuesday to begin construction on a new, eco-friendly stadium in the heart of its mega-tropolis.
Meaning inevitably, L.A. will get its third NFL team.
At least, that’s what needs to happen in order to make Farmers Field meaningful by the time it’s built in 2016.
I mean, what else is L.A. going to do with a $1.2 billion outdoor stadium that’s supposedly a gateway for thousands of new jobs in the city? Stick the Galaxy in there for soccer matches? Detach USC from the historic Memorial-Coliseum, and likewise with UCLA and its Rose Bowl?
There may be a lot of resentment among people outside of California, but Los Angeles needs the NFL to come back, even if they lost the Raiders and the Rams.
We’re talking about one of America’s most important and iconic cities here. It’s outright preposterous that a place with such a rich pro football history doesn’t even have a team. L.A. still houses the Clippers in its backyard and could get a third NBA team in the area in the Kings, if they leave Sacramento.
It’s like a Division I school that doesn’t have a basketball team, or a gadget on your wrist that does everything except tell time.
It just doesn’t make sense.
In order to make Farmers Field actually useful, L.A. would need to reel in a franchise like the San Diego Chargers. Recently, the Bolts have been very vocal about their desire to move away from the 45-year-old Qualcomm Stadium.
L.A. is clearly a bigger market, and diehard San Diego fans would only have an hour and a half drive up the coast to watch their team play in its new home. How can that move possibly be nixed?
But if the Chargers don’t move, then there are still the Rams, who haven’t seen much success and excitement in Missouri since the end of the Kurt Warner era. I’m sure a lot of fans are nostalgic about the L.A. Rams days.
Other teams have been in discussion to move to Los Angeles such as the Jaguars, but nothing has been set in stone.
This iconic city has been struggling since the economy took a dive. It’s time for L.A. to get its mojo back and start hosting Sunday games again.
Besides, new state-of-the-art stadiums are awesome for sports. And since cities get rewarded for building new venues, it’d be nice to change up the location of the Super Bowl, instead of giving it to the state of Florida every three years.
Reach the columnist at jnacion@asu.edu
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