THE NFL IN LOS ANGELES : Is It Worth the Expense? : A Times Survey Finds That Annual Cash Influx Makes a New Stadium and a Team a Good Deal

Building a new stadium to attract an NFL team would be financially beneficial to Los Angeles but not as lucrative as some experts may contend, an informal Times survey found.

The direct annual impact of a football team in Los Angeles would be about $32 million, the survey of financial experts, officials and various economic reports found.

“In a typical year the state of Georgia [gets] about $22 million [from the Atlanta Falcons] and that only counts out-of-state spending,” said Jeff Humphreys, director of Selig Center for Economic Forecasting at the University of Georgia. “In addition, you can expect about $30 million in spending by the team itself.”

There are only 10 home games a year, including exhibitions, but the economic infusion brought about by an NFL team can range from near zero to millions, experts say, depending on the way a report is skewed.

“From [studies] I have done, the [economic] contribution of professional sports is not much different than zero,” said Robert Baade, a professor of economics at Lake Forest College in suburban Chicago. “Especially if you take into account what the city or county could have done with the funds, had they done something else with them, such as building an industrial park.”

The annual spending a Los Angeles team would stimulate, however, is dwarfed by the one-time economic infusion in stadium construction expenditures, if the majority of the building costs are from private sources, and funds generated from playing host to three Super Bowls. Combined, that could bring in $1 billion within the first decade of the franchise, according to some estimates, if local government expense and concessions are minimal.

“How a team impacts Los Angeles as a whole is a drop in the ocean compared to a Super Bowl, which can bring in $182 million in a weekend,” said David Simon, president of the Los Angeles Sports Council.

The Rose Bowl and parade, for example, bring in about $125 million a year--the majority to the Pasadena economy--according to a recent study.

Simon said the 1993 Super Bowl between the Dallas Cowboys and Buffalo Bills generated about $180 million, according to a Council-commissioned study. The figure included lodging, restaurants, rental cars, money spent by the networks and a hospitality village at the Rose Bowl.

With the future of a specific Los Angeles stadium undecided, The Times’ survey focused on a new stadium in general.

The $32 million took into account only a portion of discretionary income--mostly applying the theory that money not spent this season at a Raider game was probably spent elsewhere in the county. Nor could The Times verify the county and city tax advantages beyond half a million dollars, which is what the local economy directly received from or on behalf of the Raiders, according to the statistics provided from city and state officials.

Employment and other taxes that indirectly come back to the county from the general fund were not included. Neither were property taxes from players’ housing, which officials said they could not ascertain.

The Times also did not use a multiplier to account for additional indirect economic benefits, which indicates how money magnifies in the economy. For example, what an NFL player spends money on rent is the direct benefit, and what his landlord spends that money on goods and services is the secondary benefit.

Most of the $32 million in the survey, however, is accounted for from that portion of team salaries estimated to stay in the county, $13 million; spending by visitors from outside the county, $8 million, and spending by fans in the county who buy season or day-of-game tickets with money usually spent elsewhere, $5 million. The 1,200 part-time jobs on game day--concession workers, ushers and security guards--are estimated to cost about $1 million.

Georgia’s Humphreys, who studied the economic impact of the Falcons, said out-of-town visitors spent an average of $185 per day, usually for a two-day outing. The breakdown: $85 for lodging; $45 for restaurants; $24 for retail; the rest for miscellaneous costs.

But the only thing certain about an economic forecast, is that each one differs.

“I know everyone wants to know how much money a team can bring,” said Dean Baim, a professor of economics at Pepperdine. “But it’s like trying to nail Jello to the wall.”

A recent study commissioned by the City of Inglewood for a stadium at Hollywood Park found about $113 million in total direct annual economic impact to the county. That study took into account ticket sales--The Times survey considered most of that as discretionary income--and the $39 million guaranteed to each NFL team through the league’s television contract.

“Just because I go to a football game on Sunday doesn’t mean I might not go to a movie also,” said Daniel Barrett of Deloitte and Touche LLP, who helped prepare the report for Inglewood.

But other experts believe that, especially in a city like Los Angeles, money not spent on a football game is merely spent elsewhere.

“The evidence indicates that the discretionary income [theory] applies to every city, but in Los Angeles, with the remarkable lack of passion as a consequence of losing the Rams and Raiders, it indicates there are a lot of options that can cause someone not to watch mediocre play,” Baade said.

“It could include an afternoon of hiking at the hills or at the beach. It is probably a city with a few more things to do.”

The best-case scenario for Los Angeles would be a stadium built with private funds, as is the case in Maryland, where Jack Kent Cooke is building a new facility for the Washington Redskins. But even then, Maryland officials estimate infrastructure expenses of $73 million.

St. Louis built a new stadium to lure away the Rams from Anaheim at total costs of $185 million in construction and $265 million in project fees, which included land acquisition, according to HOK Architects, the designer and overseer.

The project manager for HOK, Ed Coon, said that most of the money stayed in the St. Louis economy.

“There were times when we would have 400 construction workers on the site at the same time, in addition to the support staff, office staff and administrators,” Coon said.

Ron Lavinski, a senior president at HOK, estimated a new L.A. facility with reasonable access already in place will cost between $150 to $250 million.

The way to find out how much a team means to a community is to talk to those who have lost. The Raiders’ departure after last season for Oakland has been devastating to some of the small businesses near the Coliseum.

“It was a very big hit to our neighborhood vendors, who are open, say, 10 Sundays a year,” said Pat Lynch, general manager of the Coliseum and Sports Arena. “They were 10 of their best days.”

Sherri Obradovich, owner and manager of Julie’s restaurant, says her business has suffered. Julie’s sales on Raider home dates ranged from $10,000 to $30,000 a game.

“Most of the places around here rely heavily on the football season--it makes the rest of the year easier,” Obradovich said. “We have had to pick up other ways of bringing in income because it has affected us that much. We have to promote personal parties and do it all year long to make up for those 10 dates.”

The Coliseum area has many other entrepreneurs who have lost out, including several homeowners who made about $100 a game renting parking spaces on their lawns. A season ago, a group of Notre Dame fans paid $90 at a lot across from the Coliseum to park their motor home. Economists say the direct financial effect on the community is helped if the location of the stadium has stores and restaurants within walking distance.

That would not be the case if a football stadium were built on Dodger Stadium property, although Dodger officials have said they would like to help develop their surrounding neighborhoods. That would include Chinatown.

“Maybe we put the parking down in Chinatown and run shuttles to the stadium so people eat there before they come here,” said Bob Graziano, vice president of finance for the Dodgers.

Little Joe’s, a popular Italian Restaurant in Chinatown, said its business increases markedly during the baseball season.

“Right now we are not open on Sundays, but we probably would be if there was a football team [at Chavez Ravine],” said Steve Nuccio, general manager.

* Times staff writer Elliott Almond contributed to this story.