by Thos Robert

Created on: March 27, 2007   Last Updated: October 31, 2008

The question isn't whether the NFL needs Los Angeles (it doesn't), but rather does Los Angeles need the NFL. Or really more to the point, does Los Angeles want the NFL?

No franchise will be allowed to move to L.A. in the foreseeable future, if for no other reason than the politics of building a proper professional football stadium in Southern California. The process would certainly take too long, and the people of California would not finance a stadium on speculation that a team might move there.

Getting an expansion franchise is L.A.'s only real hope. But it will cost dearly. The last franchise the NFL granted (to Houston) cost $700 million. And this was back in 1999 (the team's inaugural season on the field was 2002). The new ownership of any franchise in L.A. will certainly have to pay $1 billion, if not $1.5 billion, in franchise fees alone. Given the politics in California, it is likely that the new owners will have to pay for the lion's share of a new stadium. The new stadium in Houston cost $352 million; a new stadium in Southern California could easily cost close to $1 billion.

Any ownership team wanting to bring the NFL back to Los Angeles is going to need very deep pockets, deep political connections, and a lot of patience.

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