Will L.A. wake up to Roski's NFL dream?
SAM FARMER / ON THE NFL
Ed Roski has been to the bottom of the Atlantic in a Russian submarine to view the wreckage of the Titanic. He's ridden his mountain bike the entire length of the Burma Road. He's climbed to base camp at Mt. Everest and has paid his deposit to travel commercially into space.
But his latest undertaking is his wildest, most improbable yet.
He wants to bring the NFL back to Los Angeles.
At a news conference Thursday, Roski will unveil the latest concept for an L.A. stadium. It's a dazzling, asymmetrical venue built into a hillside in the City of Industry, near the southern intersection of the 57 and 60 freeways. His stadium would be surrounded by a high-end shopping mall, already in the works.
Good luck, Ed, because the L.A. wreckage puts that Titanic mess to shame.
From Irwindale to Irvine, the Cornfield to Carson, Dodger Stadium to Hollywood Park, the Rose Bowl to the Coliseum, proposals ranging from ingenious to outlandish have fallen by the wayside.
Moving back to L.A. isn't among the NFL's top three priorities, and I'd be surprised if it were in the top five. Team owners don't want Commissioner Roger Goodell spending his time working on that conundrum when they're readying for a pitched battle with the players union, can't figure out how best to share their billions in revenue, and have most of America channel surfing in vain for the NFL Network.
L.A. won't reappear on the NFL's radar screen until an owner stands up and says he can no longer get it done in his current city, and the prospects of staying are so bleak that his team can be more successful in Southern California -- even when saddled with the cost of a new stadium, an astronomical relocation fee, and heaven knows what else.
Yes, there are teams that are unhappy in their current situations, teams with less-favorable stadium deals than others, or whose hometown relationships have worn thin. Jacksonville, New Orleans, Minnesota and Oakland come to mind. Then, there's San Diego, where the Chargers are free to leave any time after this season -- without the threat of a lawsuit -- as long as they pay their $56-million tab for city bonds. That number drops into the $20-million range after two years.
The Chargers say they're focused on two stadium possibilities in Chula Vista, and it remains to be seen if either of those will pan out. Is it likely they will take a hard look at Roski's proposal? Yes.
