The latest NFL team to be mentioned in buzz about possibly moving to Los Angeles is the Atlanta Falcons, who just happen to be involved in stadium discussions in Atlanta.
Fox5 Atlanta has reported that Falcons owner Arthur Blank has "shared information" with Atlanta officials that business interests in Los Angeles are interested in moving the team to the West Coast.
Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed has been calling in City Council members individually to tell them that that the city needs to take a more aggressive lead in the public financing portion of the proposed stadium, according to the report.
The Los Angeles area has been without an NFL team since after the 1994 season, when the Raiders moved back to Oakland and the Rams, who played in suburban Orange County, moved to St. Louis.
The Falcons have been in discussion with state officials about a new stadium with a retractable roof to replace the 20-year-old Georgia Dome. The price tag would be about $1 billion, with about $200-300 million of that paid for by public bonds.
Should public money be used to help pay for a new Falcons stadium? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
In Los Angeles, the Falcons would have to play in an even older facility, at least in the short term. The Los Angeles Coliseum was built before World War II, as was the venerable Rose Bowl in Pasadena. The facility in Anaheim where the Rams played has been converted to baseball only, for the Angels.
According to Bleacher Report, NFL vice president of business operations Eric Grubman told the Los Angeles Times that there are some new issues that have gotten in the way of bringing the NFL back to Los Angeles. However, it is still a priority if there is a way it can succeed.
We solved a couple of the key issues that we thought were major impediments, but some others have cropped up. We're still of a mindset to return to Los Angeles, if we can do it in a way that makes us sure that we're going to have great success.
The Carolina Panthers were the previous latest team to be involved in "move to LA" talk, according to the Times.
John Owens
3:18 pm on Saturday, February 2, 2013
NO public funding, period. If Blank cannot pony up the dough, let the left coast have the team, it worked out so well for the Rams.
In another few years, if the NFL has it's way, it's going to be touch or flag football anyway.
R
7:08 am on Sunday, February 3, 2013
Here are my thoughts since following this story,
They should of built The Georgia Dome with a retractable roof.
Now is the time to make the corrections for the long term.
From what I understand the proposed stadium would be used besides for
football, also used for soccer, etc.
Finally, if Atlanta wants a change to host The Olympic Summer Games something should be done in the near future.
Only Two Other U.S. Cities has hosted The Olympic Summer Games St. Louis Once & Los Angeles Twice.
John Wagner
9:27 am on Sunday, February 3, 2013
Public money financed by debt, should be considered in context with other priorities. Some questions:
1. As with any business, what are the cash flows (realistic forecast) expected from the new stadium and is their a ROI without metro citizens reaching deeper into their pockets. What is so wrong with the existing stadium? Will the new stadium produce incrementally more revenue for the taxpayers than the existing stadium to offset the cost?
2. Could these funds be better used on other economic projects to built a stronger economy and jobs?
An opinion; if the community finances a portion of the stadium it should be fairly compensated with team profits or stock.
IE.....put "real" numbers together and make a business decision in the best interest of the community. Clearly the Falcons are also doing the same or at least posturing to sweeten the deal. I can't tell from what I know and would love to hear from people that do.
Finally, the Falcons have to know they would be moving to a high tax, nearly bankrupt state. If the team has a bad season (remember the Raiders!) there will be empty seats. Any case to keep them here should be a strong one.
Curly
1:34 pm on Sunday, February 3, 2013
Should Public $$ be used for Falcon's new stadium? Of Course. A Real City has an NFL Team. Now granted, while Atlanta is one giant strip mall without a real city center to call it's heart, the Falcons, Braves and Hawks are part of the city's culture. If the Falcons leave, Atlanta will become the second class city its class-less city and state Governments would like to see it become. We can then call it Country Georgia
aaron burley
2:25 pm on Monday, April 1, 2013
It will be good to have the falcons to out here in LA
Dave M.
3:06 pm on Thursday, April 25, 2013
Yea... The only team I see going to LA... Is the jaguars... Have fun with that...