For Better, Worse Town All Theirs : Raiders: Rams’ departure not expected to have big effect on area’s other team.

More than a decade ago, the Raiders fought a furious legal battle in hopes of reaping the benefits of a void left by the departing Rams. Now, once again, the Rams have departed, leaving a void. But any benefits for the Raiders, much like their future, remain uncertain.

It seemed certain in 1982 that the Raiders would be enriched by their decision to move from Oakland to Los Angeles, the country’s second largest market, two years after the Rams fled the Coliseum.

But, in the ensuing years, Los Angeles has proven to be anything but a paradise for the Raiders.

The team finds itself in an antiquated stadium with no luxury boxes, in a neighborhood saddled with a negative image, unable to attract a large fan base.

Now that the Rams have announced that St. Louis is their new home, the Raiders, as the only NFL team in a large town, are affected on the following fronts:

Permanent home--Owner Al Davis has been involved for months in negotiations to build a new facility on property owned by and adjoining Hollywood Park in Inglewood.

If Davis were dealing with public funds, he might be able to use the loss of the Rams as leverage to better guarantee that the negotiations are successfully concluded, using the threat that the Raiders might depart themselves if the proposed stadium does not become a reality. Government officials don’t like to see teams depart on their watch.

But because the Hollywood Park discussions involve private funding, there is no added pressure. Public officials aren’t directly involved.

Actually, it could work just the opposite. A new stadium would be more attractive as the home of two pro football teams. With the Rams gone, the potential profits are reduced.

League officials are eager to keep at least one team in town. But the loss of the Rams is not expected to accelerate their efforts because the NFL has already been working for some time to keep the Raiders here. NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue has met with local officials and offered the attractive bait of five Super Bowls in a 10-year period for the proposed new stadium. The league would also try to help set up a permanent-seat licensing plan for the new stadium and try to attract customers for the proposed luxury suites.

“To ask if we would step up our efforts,” said Joe Browne, the league’s vice president of communications, “I would like to think we’ve already put a great deal of effort into seeing a resolution of the new-stadium situation. We’ve worked in cooperation with city, state and county officials.”

Temporary home--Even if the Raiders finally reach an agreement on a new stadium, it would take at least two years to construct.

Until then, the Raiders could stay in the Coliseum, where officials said plans are going forward with luxury boxes and a new press box.

Or the Raiders could look for an interim site, Anaheim Stadium being a strong possibility. But the Rams’ departure doesn’t affect that, one way or the other. Sources said league officials would have worked with Davis if he had been interested in using Anaheim Stadium along with the Rams, putting together a schedule that would not have conflicted.

Fan base--Although nobody wanted to be quoted, a Raider official indicated the club might increase its advertising efforts in Orange County in an effort to attract disenfranchised fans there.

There were approximately 10,000 Ram season ticket-holders left over from the days when the club played at the Coliseum. The Raiders would like to bring a majority of those back.

Media coverage--It is obvious that the Raiders will benefit from being the only pro football team covered by local media, both print and electronic.

“With both the Rams and Raiders here,” said Times sports editor Bill Dwyre, “we always tried to balance our coverage by doing things such as running midweek team features on alternate days. Now, obviously, there is more space for Raider stories.”

Television is one area in which there is a definite gain by the loss of the Rams, at least for the fans. The NFL does not permit one network to televise more than one game in a market in which a team is playing at home. Because either the Rams or Raiders were almost always home, that ruled out most network doubleheaders. With the Rams gone, there will be about twice as many doubleheaders.

With Fox being able to show more doubleheaders in Los Angeles, the network has not voiced any complaints about not having an NFC team in the nation’s second largest market.

“It’s a league matter,” David Hill, president of Fox sports, has said.