San Diego Chargers: Pros and Cons of Bringing the NFL Back to Los Angeles

The San Diego Chargers have been all over the NFL rumor mill this week.

Word on the street is that a group of prominent Los Angeles sports businessmen, led by former Lakers player and part-owner Magic Johnson and billionaire Philip Anschutz, has inquired about acquiring a significant stake in the Chargers franchise.

Naturally, those rumors have precipitated even more rumors regarding the possibility of the Bolts moving from their dilapidated digs at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego to a shiny new shrine somewhere in Los Angeles.

Gossip of this sort is nothing new. Aside from San Diego's inability to get a new stadium built for its NFL franchise, the prospect of the Chargers "bolting" north has been sparked by the team's hiring of the Wasserman Media Group in 2009 to market the powder blue in L.A. and Orange County.

And with a disappointing loss to the Oakland (and formerly Los Angeles) Raiders, questions about the Chargers in San Diego persist.

The notions of movement are largely speculative at this point, but are the pros and cons of a poaching of San Diego's team?

Pro: L.A. Finally Gets a Pro Football Team Again

Jerome Bettis and the Rams were once a mainstay in LA.

The most obvious advantage of a Chargers' move to L.A., at least in the eyes of the NFL, is the reincorporation of the nation's second-largest media market into the world of professional football.

At least in the eyes of those who don't think USC is running a "pro-style" program downtown.

Regardless, the NFL has been trying for years get its foot back in the door in Southern California, but has struggled to do so effectively, whether it be for a lack of ownership options, movable franchises or support from the city for new and/or upgraded facilities.

However, Magic Johnson and Philip Anschutz seem to be putting together the perfect storm to bring the Bolts back to L.A., which would be a boon to the NFL's SoCal profile.

Con: L.A. Is a Not a Football Town

Bo Jackson and the Raiders had a successful stint in the City of Angels.

The NFL has tried, and failed, to keep teams in L.A. before.

Southern California was once home to the Raiders and the Rams, until a confluence of forces led to both teams leaving town in 1995.

In the case of the Rams, the team struggled to remain relevant in Southern California after moving to Anaheim to avoid splitting a market with the Raiders, under the sloppy stewardship of noted gold digger Georgia Frontiere.

In the case of the Raiders, legendary owner Al Davis decided to move the team back to Oakland just 12 years after putting up a massive legal battle against the NFL to get the team out of the Bay Area. According to Davis himself, "The inadequate stadia in the Los Angeles area for the interim years influenced our decision [to move back]."

In both cases, the teams had some difficulty selling out their stadiums, due in part to flubs by the league, but more importantly because of the L.A. area itself.

In other words, Los Angeles is not an ideal football town, or rather, it's not an NFL town.

It's not easy to get 100,000 people into a stadium in L.A. on a Sunday afternoon when the city lacks the kind of football-crazed populace seen in other big cities like New York and Philadelphia.

And while it is certainly a worthwhile risk for the NFL to get back into the lucrative L.A. market, it is a significant risk, nonetheless, for a league that has prospered without the city.

Pro: A New Football Stadium Downtown

The L.A. Memorial Coliseum has fallen into disrepair in recent years.

While a city like Los Angeles, with its diverse population and massive sprawl, doesn't exactly need a professional football team, having one around certainly wouldn't hurt.

In particular, building a state-of-the-art football stadium in downtown L.A. would only further the region's recent resurgence and provide economic opportunity for a population that has suffered somewhat disproportionately from the most recent recession.

Developers and contractors would benefit from the construction of such a facility in the short term, while local businesses would thrive thanks to the inevitable flood of consumers in the long run.

Additionally, the presence of a sparkling new facility just might encourage the laggardly Rose Bowl and Coliseum Commissions to renovate their respective stadiums as a means of keeping up with the Joneses, so to speak.

Hence, the city itself would profit immensely from the movement of an NFL franchise, with the Chargers being the most likely candidate.

Con: More Traffic in an Already Congested City

The presence of an NFL franchise would only worsen what is already nightmarish traffic in Los Angeles.

Of course, that new flood of people wouldn't come without consequence to the rest of the city.

Traffic around Los Angeles is bad enough as it is, with downtown being the most congested of all parts of the city on a day-to-day basis.

Should the Chargers or any other NFL franchise take up residence around L.A. Live, the situation would likely worsen.

Even Sunday cruisers wouldn't be safe from the pangs of traffic gridlock.

Pro: Chargers Cash in on Nation's Second-Largest Market

The development of LA Live has revitalized downtown.

The move would unequivocally be a boon to the Chargers franchise.

What's not to like about playing in a bigger market, in a brand-new stadium, in the city where the Bolts were born.

And, as previously mentioned, the Chargers already receive a great deal of exposure in the L.A. area, thanks to the team's deal with Wasserman Media Group.

A firm, by the way, which is owned by Casey Wasserman, the current owner of the Avengers of the Arena Football League and a fervent supporter of bringing the NFL back to the City of Angels.

The Chargers came into being in L.A. as a charter member of the AFL in 1960 before moving south to San Diego in 1961.

A march to L.A., then, would be both a step back in time and a step forward in profitability for the franchise.

Con: San Diego Loses Its Biggest Sports Draw

Donald Miralle/Getty Images

SAN DIEGO, CA - DECEMBER 5: Antoine Cason #20 of the San Diego Chargers looks on as Robert Gallery #76 congratulates teammate Darren McFadden #20 of the Oakland Raiders after McFadden's touchdown during their NFL game at Qualcomm Stadium on December 5, 20

Unfortunately for San Diego, Los Angeles' gain would be its loss.

A Chargers shift north would undoubtedly be hugely upsetting to the likes of Ron Burgundy and his fellow San Diegoites...err, San Diegoans...

San Diegans!

Sorry.

Without a professional football franchise, the city's sports fans would have only one local team to root for—the San Diego Padres, who have spent the MLB offseason unloading (or trying to unload) their best players.

It'd be tough not to feel for the long-suffering sports fans of San Diego should the Bolts make the trip up the I-5 freeway for good.

Pro: Magic Gets To Shine As an Owner

Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

LOS ANGELES, CA - JUNE 17: Earvin 'Magic' Johnson holds the Larry O'Brien Trophy after the Lakers defeated the Boston Celtics in Game Seven of the 2010 NBA Finals at Staples Center on June 17, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressl

Then again, it would be just as easy to feel good for Magic Johnson should he and the Anschutz Entertainment Group engineer the return of an NFL franchise to the fertile football grounds of Los Angeles.

Magic has been a staple in the world of L.A. sports ever since his playing days with the Lakers.

After being forced into retirement due to his contraction of HIV, Johnson has channeled his competitive spirit and infectious energy into a number of highly successful business ventures, which now exist under the umbrella of Magic Johnson Enterprises.

There's little doubt that Magic would be just as successful as an NFL owner, with his unparalleled vision and drive helping him to make the dream of pro football in the City of Angels a reality once again.

Conclusion: A Long Charge Ahead

Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

SAN DIEGO - NOVEMBER 22: Quarterback Philip Rivers #17 of the San Diego Chargers waits to be introduced prior to the start of the NFL football game against Denver Broncos at Qualcomm Stadium on November 22, 2010 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Kevor

At this point, the return of the NFL to Los Angeles is something of an inevitability.

With talk of football in the freeway capital of the country being such a recurrent topic among fans and affiliates alike, there's just too much smoke for there not to be some kind of fire.

However, whether its the Chargers or some other franchise making the move, and whether that move happens two years from now or 10 years down the line, is still very much in doubt.

Thus, the most recent rumors will, for now, only add fuel to what is becoming the eternal flame that is the discussion of professional football in L.A.