NFL Lays Down the Law for Potential L.A moves

((ht: latimes))

Proposed AEG Facility

So...the talk about some random team in the NFL just walking in one day and saying "The heck with it, we're leaving and going to Los Angeles, yeah, that ain't happening so fast.

The Jolly Roger (NFL Commish Roger Goodell) has laid down the law when it comes to potential franchise relocation.

And while the Jolly one didn't make it impossible to happen, he did lay out some specific guidelines that any potential team (Jax, San Diego, Minnesota, St. Louis or Oakland) looking to move to Los Angeles will have to get his papal seal of approval.

What does that mean?

According to a memo unearthed by Sam Farmer of the LA Times, the biggie is the "League" not the team will decide whether the move will happen.

Other biggies include: Negotiating a deal with an alternate site until a stadium can be put in place, apply in the first 45 days of 2013 an application to move, evaluate and work with the league to explore opportunities to stay where you are and show a stadium plan for LA that works for the league.

Really?

Read the whole story from the LA Times RIGHT HERE

This is interesting. Particularly if you live in any of the cities listed above. It doesn't rule out the potential for moving, but it also makes it much more difficult to use as a bargaining chip.

It still smacks of potential extortion however. You might ask "Why?" Simply put, it still puts a gun to a city currently hosting a team to give said team what they want or lose them. In any other part of life or business, you could argue that it is a form of blackmail (our opinion).

And spare me the whole "Well the team brings in money to the city in the form of tourists and visitors" line. Just stop using that.

While we get that people travel to town for things like Green Bay Packers games and stay the weekend and hotels and eat at restaurants, that is the exception rather than the rule. The vast majority of people at a given game live within 100 miles of the place.

Really, they do.

Back to the LA Story.

Yes, it opens up the opportunity for groups such as AEG and the "City of Opportunity" group...to an extent.

It sounds an awful lot like they are going to have to actually build their stadium without a team to initially fill it. Or at least not start until they have a tenant. Which according to this law/rule means: You'll get a team, but only if WE say you'll get a team.