NFL Reportedly to Begin Los Angeles Market Research for Potential Team

The NFL is exploring the possibility of moving a team to Los Angeles.

Continue for updates.

Tuesday, Nov. 11

Rams Owner Reportedly Trying to Buy Chunk of Los Angeles Real Estate

According to a report from Nick Canepa of UT San Diego, Rams owner Stan Kroenke is attempting to buy a chunk of real estate in Los Angeles:

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Rams owner Stan Kroenke has purchased 60 acres in Inglewood, near defunct Hollywood Park, and now is said to be negotiating to purchase the racetrack’s 300 acres. They’re the prime candidates to move. Raiders boss Mark Davis, son of Al, has talked with L.A. people, but also recently played host to a San Antonio contingent for some reason interested in the woebegone franchise’s move to Texas.

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Hollywood Park Owner Reportedly Asking For Large Sum

Jason Cole of Bleacher Report reported what he was hearing about the Hollywood Park site:

Tuesday, Oct. 21

The idea of the NFL returning to the Los Angeles market for the first time since the Rams and Raiders left after the 1994 season is nothing new. That said, signs are beginning to emerge that suggest the time frame for making the move is edging closer.

Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times reports the league is starting to conduct a "formal market assessment" of the area. The focus is on people with the potential to become "premium customers," which would be key to a successful franchise.

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According to an individual familiar with the survey but not authorized to discuss it publicly, the study is not site-specific, nor does it identify teams that are relocation candidates. But it asks questions in an open-ended way so people can make their preferences known. The study will be conducted by the sports consulting firm Legends, which has worked with several NFL clubs on their stadiums, among them the San Francisco 49ers.

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The report states the decision to conduct the survey doesn't guarantee a team is definitely coming to the area in the near future. Instead, it's a tool to see exactly how enthusiastic people are about the possibility for future planning purposes.

As of now, the assessment is going to last around two weeks. Once the results are gathered and analyzed, the league is then expected to bring together some focus groups to go over the finer details to create a more comprehensive outlook.

Earlier in the month, the Buffalo Bills, long viewed as a possible relocation candidate, came off the market and will be staying in Western New York under the ownership of the Pegula family.

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Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reported at the time that change didn't impact the expectations of a team in Los Angeles in the near future.

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The Bills won't be moving to Los Angeles. But someone will. Fairly soon.

As the 20th anniversary of the NFL's departure from Los Angeles, the NFL seems closer than ever to returning. Per a league source, the current plan is that the NFL will send one or two teams back to Los Angeles within the next 12 to 24 months.

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It wasn't shocking news, of course. The idea has been floated around for quite some time. Marc Sessler of NFL.com passed along comments from commissioner Roger Goodell back in July about a stadium being the most important hurdle.

"It still comes back to, 'Do we have the right solution in Los Angeles?' And that comes back to a stadium," Goodell said, adding:

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Do we have a stadium that we feel can be competitive with the high-quality stadiums? I just came from San Francisco, from a ribbon-cutting for a new stadium (in Santa Clara), and we're excited about that, and we're investing billions of dollars in creating those kinds of stadiums.

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George Rose/Getty Images

Los Angeles is the second-largest metro area in the United States behind New York. That's a revenue stream the league would love to tap into.

There are still plenty of details to work out before it becomes reality, though. The league is hoping the new survey can at least solve some of those issues and get the ball moving, especially if that one- to two-year timeline is still the goal.