L.A. Suitors Are Many

As a coalition of power brokers formally unveiled their plans Wednesday for a football stadium in downtown Los Angeles, six NFL teams emerged as the most obvious relocation candidates: San Diego, New Orleans, Minnesota, Indianapolis, Buffalo and Arizona.

Representatives from the Philip Anschutz-backed stadium group said they have begun tentative discussions with two of those teams--identifying the Chargers as one--and added the NFL told them the stadium should be capable of housing two teams. With that a remote possibility, the Anschutz group is concentrating on laying the groundwork for one team.

While an NFL return to L.A. is far from a certainty, Anschutz Entertainment Group President Tim Leiweke is predicting something of a bidding war if the stadium inches closer to becoming a reality.

“You’re going to have a few teams that are going to be aggressive with us,” said Leiweke, who declined to identify the second team, citing a confidentiality agreement signed by both sides. Sources say the team is Minnesota.

Leiweke said Anschutz, a Denver billionaire, is not interested in owning an NFL team, but is interested in the stadium endeavor if it makes financial sense.

Leiweke also said the group has had introductory discussions with USC and UCLA about the stadium becoming the permanent home to one or both of those college football teams. UCLA, whose contract with the Rose Bowl expires after this season, is the most likely team to make the switch.

Skeptics have questioned whether a new stadium could secure enough dates to make it financially feasible, even with an NFL and college team. But Leiweke and coalition partner Casey Wasserman envision hosting such other events as soccer, motor sports and concerts.

Key to the whole process, Leiweke said, is a commitment from the NFL that the stadium play host to as many as three Super Bowls in a 10- to 12-year span. He essentially said the deal would be derailed absent such a promise.

The two-team proposal was a rather surprising development. Observers say the league wants to maintain Los Angeles as leverage, even after a team moves there.

Even though the chances of that happening are slim, there is a precedent for that. The Meadowlands in New Jersey is home to the New York Jets and Giants.

Leiweke also pointed to the example at Anschutz-owned Staples Center, shared by the Lakers and Clippers and the NHL’s Kings.

Leiweke said a best-case scenario would have a team ready to play in Los Angeles--at a temporary site, either the Coliseum or Rose Bowl--by the 2003 season. If all things progress smoothly, he said, a team could move into a new stadium by the 2005 season.

Although Leiweke said the Raiders are not one of the stadium candidates, the team is suing the city of Oakland, claiming its lease was negotiated in bad faith. A trial is set for March and if the Raiders win, they could be freed from that agreement. Another team mentioned as a possibility has been the 49ers, whose plans for a new stadium are in limbo. But a spokesman said Wednesday that he would “bet a fortune” the team would never move from San Francisco.

A glance at the six teams whose leases allow them to leave within the next few years:

San Diego--The Chargers are already moving their training camp in 2003 from La Jolla to the Anschutz sports complex in Carson, and they have a major loophole in their lease with publicly owned Qualcomm Stadium. The contract, which extends through 2020, has a clause that would allow team owner Alex Spanos to “shop” for a new city in 2004 if the team exceeds certain salary restrictions imposed by the NFL.

Minnesota--Viking owner Red McCombs is very interested in selling his team, and, according to NFL sources, has already contacted the Anschutz coalition about buying it. The problem with the Vikings, though, is there is no clear way out of their Metrodome lease in the next seven years.

New Orleans--Saint owner Tom Benson says he wants to keep the team in New Orleans and last week signed a 10-year, $186-million deal with the state to keep the franchise among the top 16 teams in local revenue. But escape clauses remain in the lease, and it’s unclear whether New Orleans can continue to support an NFL team, let alone the transplanted Charlotte Hornets.

Buffalo--It’s highly unlikely the Bills will ever move out of Buffalo as long as Ralph Wilson is the owner. After all, they play in a stadium named after him. But sources familiar with the situation say Wilson does not have enough cash to transfer the team to his two daughters and pay the estate tax. After the 2004 season, the Bills can get out of their Buffalo lease by paying a $20-million penalty. That penalty shrinks each subsequent year, all the way down to $2 million in 2012.

Indianapolis--Although their lease expires in 2005, the Colts can get out of their lease earlier if they dip below the median in total operating revenue.

Arizona--The Cardinals have the money for a new stadium, including more than $350 million from taxpayers, but they have yet to find a suitable place to put it. They have zeroed in on a Mesa site, but people there are circulating a petition to keep a stadium out of their town.

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Football Fever

*--* Football Fever A by-the-numbers look at a 64,000-seat stadium proposed for downtown Los Angeles: $400 million-$450 million: Estimated stadium cost $70 million to $100 million: Cost of land acquisition $150 million: Amount NFL could loan 20: Acreage of proposed site 16,000: Parking spaces located within 1/2 mile 4: Principal investors in a stadium deal--(AEG, Ed Roski, Casey Wasserman, Ron Burkle) 32: Days of stadium usage $2,000-$5,000: Price of estimated 9,000 club seats $125,000: Price of 150-200 luxury suites $65: Average NFL ticket price projected in 2006 3: Super Bowls requested by Los Angeles backers in the next 10-12 years 24: NFL owners needed to approve a team relocation

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