L.A. "could submit a bid soon" for the '21 Super Bowl, the next game for which the city "is eligible to bid," according to Brent Schrotenboer of USA TODAY. The Rams' new stadium in Inglewood is expected to be completed in time for the '19 season, and league policy states a stadium "needs to be open for at least two years before it can host a Super Bowl." Additionally, a team "needs to express interest, and then the Super Bowl advisory committee establishes which teams are eligible to bid for a particular game." However, L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti indicated he "won’t stop" with just one Super Bowl. He said, "I expect us to land a disproportionate amount of Super Bowls. We want to bring the draft here. We really want to announce we’re back as part of the NFL family in an aggressive way" (USA TODAY, 1/15). Garcetti noted that he could see the Inglewood stadium "hosting 1 in every 3 Super Bowls." He added, "Let’s get that application in soon and see if we might be able to bring it here the first opportunity" (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 1/15). In San Jose, Mark Purdy acknowledges he has wondered if the Inglewood stadium could impact Levi's Stadium becoming a regular Super Bowl host. But he writes, "More than anything that happens in Los Angeles, the Bay Area’s chances of becoming a regular Super Bowl host every five or six years (as seems to be the case with Miami and New Orleans) rests largely on how Levi’s Stadium and Northern California perform this time." Purdy: "Between 1983 and 1998, five of the 16 Super Bowls -- almost one third of them -- were played in Southern California, three in LA and two in San Diego. I could see the same sort of thing happening in the future [with Santa Clara]" (MERCURYNEWS.com, 1/15).
HANDSHAKE DEALS BE DAMNED: ESPN.com's Johnette Howard wrote Rams Owner Stan Kroenke's "daring move of buying the site in Inglewood last year and then breaking ground before he even had league approval to relocate created a sea of change that he rode to victory." It "brazenly exploited" Chargers Chair Dean Spanos' "inability to privately fund a stadium or build one himself," while leaving Raiders Owner Mark Davis "stuck in a small-potatoes role as a passenger in any relocation-to-L.A. deal." Kroenke "carried the day, too, because of his ability to build successful alliances with less traditional owners" such as the Cowboys' Jerry Jones and the Seahawks' Paul Allen. It was "hard to miss Kroenke's glowing talk of Allen's expertise in reaching millennials and Jones' forward-charging attitude." Kroenke "left many folks feeling this isn't the old-guard NFL the Maras and Rooneys and Halases and Fords created, even if all four families still own flagship franchises." Handshake deals "have been replaced by karate chops" (ESPN.com, 1/14).
FOLLOW THE MONEY: In Ft. Worth, Gil Lebreton writes under the header, "Money Had To Be Behind Cowboys Owner Jones' L.A. Vote." Jones' involvement in the L.A. relocation vote was "suspiciously overenthusiastic." He was the one who "championed the proposal Tuesday that led to the owners approving Stan Kroenke’s bid to build a new stadium in Inglewood." Lebreton: "Follow the money in the deal, and I’ll bet you’ll find the tidewater that Owner Jones talked about. Jerry likes his pockets to overflow." The secret ballot that was used in the selection process "allowed NFL owners to vote with their checkbooks, if not their consciences" (FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 1/15). In Buffalo, Bucky Gleason wrote Jones and "other NFL bullies" too often "are so consumed with football revenue that they disregard diehard fans in football towns." Gleason: "It made me wonder if NFL newbies [Bills Owners] Terry and Kim Pegula, when voting in favor of the Rams’ move, simply rolled with the tide rather than stand strong against the wave" (BUFFALONEWS.com, 1/14).
TOO BIG TO FAIL? In Chicago, Steve Rosenbloom wrote he still sees the NFL "failing in Los Angeles," as nobody there "cares about football long enough." Eventually, everybody "will figure out that the worst place to watch a football game is in a football stadium, even the Taj Mahal of football stadiums." The Rams' move "will look like a hit for the first few years," as celebrities "will show up at the start because that’s what celebrity handlers engineer." But then they will "see more [Jeff] Fisher-coached teams, and then they’ll figure out they can’t be seen the way they are at a Lakers or Clippers game" (CHICAGOTRIBUNE.com, 1/14).
