Majestic Realty Plans To Talk With Six Teams About L.A. Move

Majestic Realty Will Talk To Six Teams About Moving To Proposed City Of Industry Stadium

Majestic Realty Co. VP John Semcken yesterday said that his company will "approach the San Diego Chargers and five other teams in February" about moving to a proposed NFL stadium in City of Industry, California, "as early as next season," according to Matthew Hall of the SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE. Semcken, who "revealed his intentions at a breakfast gathering of the Orange County Business Industry Association" in Costa Mesa, California, said that the California Senate "will help clear a last hurdle" for the $800M, 600-acre stadium project by next Thursday. This will come either by "legislation, already passed by the Assembly, to bypass state environmental laws," or by "negotiations Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg arranged last month." Semcken: "Come next week, our stadium will be approved. Then we'll be able to go out and buy a football team." Semcken said that new talks with teams "would begin after the Super Bowl in February, and may involve" the Jaguars, Bills, Vikings, Rams, Chargers and Raiders. Chargers Special Counsel Mark Fabiani said that the Chargers "'expect and hope ' to be playing in San Diego next season." The 49ers "could also be pursed if a vote for a new stadium in Santa Clara fails." Semcken: "There are at least seven teams that are having an issue. San Francisco, I think they're fine. So the other six teams, one of those six will move to our stadium."  Semcken noted that the NFL "could return to the area in 2010 but more likely in 2011 and that a team would play close by before moving to Industry in 2013" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 10/7).

MAKING THEIR PITCH: In California, James Wagner reports Majestic Realty officials over recent weeks have "made a handful of presentations to Orange County groups in hopes of gaining the attention of future ticket buyers," specifically buyers interested in the "higher-end club seats and suites" at the proposed stadium. One such presentation took place at the Big Canyon Country Club in Newport Beach two weeks ago, and Semcken said that Majestic Realty officials "also made a presentation at the Balboa Bay Club and Resort in Newport Beach" (SAN GABRIEL VALLEY TRIBUNE, 10/7).

STIMULUS PACKAGE: In L.A., Tom Rutten notes the California Senate "sometime in the next week or so ... will decide whether to grant a one-time exemption from provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act to" Majestic Realty Chair & CEO Ed Roski for the stadium. Rutten writes exempting the stadium is "something the Senate needs to do," as the project's environmental implications "already have been thoroughly studied." Also, L.A. is "in the grip of an unemployment crisis, and independent estimates say the stadium project will create 12,000 construction jobs and 6,732 permanent positions in the adjacent facilities -- 100% of them unionized, paying good wages with real benefits" (L.A. TIMES, 10/7).