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While the absence of an NFL team in LA is likely to end soon, ultimately it will be the NFL’s January vote that decides which teams go where.
Speculating on what the NFL will decide, sports writer Leigh Steinberg suggests the Rams will move to LA during the next off-season, along with the Chargers, while the Raiders fill the NFL hole in St Louis, Forbes reports. He says that franchise movements are about a state-of-the-art stadium and franchise bottom-line valuation—NOT the fans.
Rams owner Stan Kroenke seems determined to bring his team back to LA. LA's football team for 50 years, the Rams still have a strong fan base here. The move would be a tremendous boost to the franchise’s valuation, as it would put 15 million people within two hours of a stadium. The region also is the nation’s second-largest television market and home to a huge number of corporate HQs and the entertainment industry.
Steinberg believes the Chargers, which appear unwilling to make a deal with San Diego, will negotiate with Kroenke to share Inglewood Stadium. He also warns that if Oakland doesn’t act quickly to keep the Raiders there, it may also lose the Warriors to San Diego and the A’s to the San Jose area. [Forbes]
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