What does this have to do with MLS or the price of tea in China, other than the fact that it happens to be in the same city as The Toolbox?
No? Really? Since when? The point of the artical is that the NFL owners are voting to hold an option on land in Carson. See, NFL owners vote on this, both Hunt and Kraft are importaint NFL owners. If they wanted the NFL to stay out of Carson, then they could maybe stop it.
Oh god I hope so! I used to drive by the Carson site every day to work, It wouldn't pose a problem for the HDC. If LA gets a football team I think Carson is the best site, as it could serve both LA and Orange County.
You probably haven't heard about this yet, but there are preliminary plans to build a soccer-specific stadium in Carson. If the NFL moves in, the Galaxy will have to build it somewhere else rather than risk competition with football, America's premier summer sport.
I don't. The HDC is 99% complete, it's not like they're going to tear it down. I don't see how this hurts MLS in any way whatsoever.
Kraft won't stop it... It's pretty common knowledge in NFL circles that Kraft has been a big proponent of having a team in LA, given that it is the 2nd biggest TV market in the country, and without a local team for several years, interest in the league as a whole would wane, he argues. In fact, he wanted the expansion team that went to Houston to go in LA, but since the Houston people were much better organized, LA never stood a chance. And unlike the 3 other big sports, the NFL probably has more fans who count an out-of-town team as their favorite, even if they have no real connection to "their" team's city. Kinda like all the Man United fans who have never been to Manchester. I don't know how much land there is in the Carson complex, but it seems to me that this will be the center for a number of sports as well as soccer. There's the tennis stadium, not to mention a cycling track and a bunch of other stuff. If anything, this could be the ideal place to put a large stadium, assuming you have to put it somewhere. I suppose it depends on what the taxpayers say. Many people in LA feel that they have done fine without an NFL team for the last several years, after once having TWO. Unlike second-tier cities like Nashville and Indian-no-place, LA doesn't need to spend millions of $$$ on corporate welfare to a money grubber like McCombs (Vikings) to feel like a "real" city. Tom
I think the NFL has been caught with its pants down and is now doing a "me, too!" with its "Hacienda" concept. The Hacienda is supposed to be a 100-acre Mexican-themed xanadu that has an NFL stadium, shopping, movies, and entertainment (think Dave & Buster's) within its gates. And having a large concession/entertainment area under security control is a major concern in the "homeland security era," especially in the US's second largest metropolis. I still believe you will see an NFL stadium either at Chavez Ravine or somewhere in Orange County. Book it: The Hacienda will NOT be built in Carson.
Re: Kraft won't stop it... They've been without a team since 1995, and I don't see any signs of interest waning. I think they think their TV deal will be worth more (or relatively more, since rights fees are kinda stalling) with LA in the mix as opposed to Indianapolis or Minneapolis or something.
Re: Re: Kraft won't stop it... You know, LA's NFL ratings still aren't that bad. Not comparable to Denver for a Broncos game, or Dallas for a Cowboys telecast, but big games still get ratings over 10. I don't recall the Rams generating that kind of interest during their final years here, although that might have more to do with that murdering whore who owns the time. (Oh, sorry, calling Georgia Frontiere a "murdering whore" is an affront to murdering whores everywhere.) LA is just lousy with transplants that hate LA teams with a passion, and that translates in a lot of fans of a lot of teams. The only team that still has a big enough fan base here are the Raiders, because their gangsta image hugely resonated with this area's gangsta mentality. Any other team that moved here; Vikings, Colts, Chargers, or the Saints, would have an away game whenever they played Oakland, and tell truth, I doubt any other team's ratings in LA would be very impressive. What the NFL really wants is another place to put rotate a Superb Bowl, and another stadium getting luxury box cash in LA dollars.
Re: Re: Re: Kraft won't stop it... Now that they're not blacked out every week by virtue of the Rams or the Raiders being at home every week. The former, absolutely. The latter, as it's not shared, doesn't impact the other owners as much.
Alright, someone either needs to lay off the meth or I'm just missing how on earth they'd stop construction on the Home Depot Center right now because of an option on land. Last I checked on stadium construction, http://www.lagalaxy.com/hdcupdates.php, it looked like it was nearly complete!
Didn't some elected officials in Carson recently get tossed in jail? I have to imagine that city officials in Carson would have no problem closing some libraries, schools, police stations & fire stations & handing the money over to a billionaire. City officials in LA, on the other hand, would have to explain to a million Chivas fans why they are giving Corporate Welfare to a Futbol Americano team.