It’s no secret the NFL wants to get a team back in one of the largest population centers in the United States (as well as London and the rest of the world). Now, there are several reports that Stan Kroenke, owner of the St. Louis Rams, is connected to a 60 acre real estate site in Inglewood adjacent to LAX, which would be an ideal spot for an NFL stadium. A spokesman for Mayor Eric Garcetti said the city would not speculate on the property deal, but with the Rams’ lease in St. Louis set to expire after next season, there will be speculation none the less.
Will there be a new NFL Stadium near Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)?
After Walmart failed to get approval for a superstore at the site, the company sold the lot to Kroenke, who has familial ties to Walmart. The LA business journal reports that the city received inquiries from five separate parties about the land, three of whom were football owners (unspecified).
While the NFL deal is interesting, it may be more interesting to note that there are now three possible NFL stadium sites in L.A., two of which already have major billion dollar proposals. These proposals are city on major unused real estate plots that are gathering dust. The Inglewood site has been a major site of contention in L.A., sitting empty since before it was bought by Walmart in 2004. With several deals falling through in the past decade, including one with the Madison Square Garden Company, the city has made it clear it wants a developer who will build on the site soon, not an investor who will sell it again in a few years.
With residential houses being built next to the site and Inglewood Mayor James Butts saying that a project would have to be “100% privately financed,” as well as reports that the city wants building on a project to start soon, there are major hurdles to overcome. But the possibility is there, and the NFL has never been one to sit and wait.
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