Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones called Houston's chances of
getting the NFL's 32nd team "outstanding," according to John
McClain of the HOUSTON CHRONICLE. Jones: "Right now, I
think Houston has really gotten out ahead of Los Angeles as
far as the likelihood of where this expansion will go.
There are many people in the league that, if given a choice
between having a Los Angeles franchise or a Houston
franchise, would rather have a Houston franchise from the
standpoint of just the marketplace alone. Forget the fact
that one's got the stadium in place and the other doesn't."
McClain notes that sources say L.A. "will mount one more
effort" to win the team, and the plan will "center" on Eli
Broad offering to "put up much of the money" for the parking
garages the NFL wants. Jones feels the NFL should allow
Raiders Owner Al Davis to return his team to L.A. Jones: "I
want to (help Davis), not so much for Al but for the league.
We don't need two teams [in the Bay Area], and I think the
answer to Los Angeles is that maybe it suits moving a team
there." Jones believes the September 15 league deadline
will pass "without the league making a decision" on Houston
or L.A. Jones, on Houston bid leader Bob McNair: "I've seen
his approach to how he wants to market the team, and it's
outstanding. It's like a Harvard study. I refer to it all
the time in terms of how he'd like to handle his
sponsorships and relationships" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 8/19).
