The NFL is buzzing with the announcement of the end of the lockout. The next best news for the league could be entering the 2nd largest market in the United States the city of Los Angeles.
Los Angeles officials on Monday unveiled a draft of a “Memorandum of Understanding,” which basically outlines the framework of an agreement between AEG and the city to build a new $275 million wing of the Los Angeles Convention Center and the attached Farmers Field, a $1.2 billion football stadium and events center.
An actual deal with the city is still about a year from becoming a reality, with the completion of an environmental impact report not expected until the spring. AEG is hoping to begin construction on the project in June 2012, with Farmers Field opening in September 2016.
The agreement states construction on the project cannot proceed until an NFL team has signed a contract to play at Farmers Field. That means an NFL team could be playing in Los Angeles as early as next season if AEG begins construction on the project this summer. A team would likely play in the Coliseum or Rose Bowl until Farmers Field is built.
The team most likely to head to Los Angeles would be the San Diego Chargers, which began as the Los Angeles Chargers at the Coliseum in 1960 and have tried unsuccessfully for nearly a decade to get a new stadium to replace 45-year-old Qualcomm Stadium.
Other teams being considered to a move to Los Angeles are the Jacksonville Jaguars, Minnesota Vikings, Oakland Raiders, and the St. Louis Rams.