Results tagged “NFL” from NFL

State Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg was a guest in the Chargers owner Alex Spanos' luxury box at a recent San Diego game. The legislator, who pushed through a bill to allow the NFL stadium plan in Industry to proceed, was reportedly there for a fundraiser, writes Michael Gardner in the San Diego Union-Tribune. (The Chargers have been listed as a potential candidate to move to Los Angeles.)

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell says there are "positive developments" in the Los Angeles area. "But now we have to figure out how to pay for it. And in our economic system, that is a big challenge. It's at least an $800 million stadium," he told the Associated Press.

The St. Louis Rams are the most likely to move to the future Industry stadium site because the team is currently up for sale and they have an opt-out clause with their Jones Dome lease after 2014 season, writes Peter King in Sports Illustrated.

Ed Roski, Jr.'s development company, Majestic Realty, has fielded requests to reserve the 176 luxury suites and almost 40,000 for the 12,500 club seats, writes Jon Wertheim in Sports Illustrated.

Heck, even the New York Times took up the news.

For an archive of NFL stadium stories, click here. Follow news on the NFL stadium in the LA-area and more on Twitter @jmswgnr. Suggestions for future links are welcome here.

With a week left in the legislative session, proponents of a professional football stadium in the Los Angeles area pushing for a relaxing of environmental laws may face steep opposition from Democratic legislators and run out of time, a state senator said Friday.

State Sen. George Runner (R-Lancaster) said Friday that he is open to expediting the environmental approval process for projects but an exemption from environmental law may be difficult with only days left in the legislative session.

"This is a difficult time to move that bill that quickly," said Runner, the vice-chair of the Environmental Quality Committee that oversees the California Environmental Quality Act, the environmental law that governs new development.

The proposed exemption's bill language appears not to be finalized and doesn't have an author, officials said Friday.

Billionare developer Ed Roski Jr. and his representatives from his company, Majestic Realty Co., met with two legislative leaders Thursday in Sacramento to pitch the 75-000-seat stadium in Industry as a job-generating project.

But it turns out Majestic and its lobbyists have been seeking an exemption from environmental rules holding up the proposed football stadium near the 57/60 freeway interchange, according to local officials. A neighboring city, Walnut, filled a lawsuit against the project in March, objecting to its environmental impact study.

Roski met Thursday with Senate leader Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) and Assembly Speaker Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles), which also included Maria Elena Durazo, head of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, legislative officials said.

Runner said he hasn't been approached by Roski or stadium proponents about the exemption. "All we know is that the discussion is going on," he said.

State Sen. Bob Huff (R-Glendora), who oversees the portion of Industry where the stadium is proposed, also wasn't approached by stadium proponents, said Huff's spokeswoman Junay Gardner.

Huff, whose wife Mei Mei Huff is on Majestic's payroll, has publicly supported the stadium.

Senate Republican Leader Dennis Hollingsworth (R-Murrieta) was approached by "stadium proponents," said Hollingsworth's spokeswoman Melanie Reagan. It wasn't immediately clear with whom and when Hollingsworth met them.

Hollingsworth pushed hard for a controversial bill some critics argued would have benefited the proposed NFL stadium during the recent state budget stalemate. The bill, named after Industry, would have extended the life of redevelopment agencies for 40 years without having to prove blight as long as the state received a 10 percent cut of the property-tax revenue.

Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, a Democrat from Los Angeles, pulled the bill after critics said it would help fund the infrastructure for the stadium project.

The legislature ends its session Sept. 11.

For an archive of NFL stadium stories, click here. Follow news on the NFL stadium in the LA-area and more on Twitter @jmswgnr

Readers:

Another National Football League season is upon us and the Los Angeles area won't have a team, nor a start date on construction of its proposed $800-million stadium project.

But this blog has returned and it'll document why.

It'll feature more breaking news than before and a collection of news across the NFL that relates to the elusive question: Will the NFL ever return to LA?

For an archive of our stories, click here.

Keep checking back for more.

Thanks.

Follow news on the NFL stadium in the LA-area and more on Twitter @jmswgnr

NFL Commisioner Roger Goodell interviewed on ESPN Radio this morning covered a wide range of topics including Pacman's problems, Crazy Al's feud with Lane Kiffin, and the economy. He wasn't asked about Majestic's promise to bring a team to LA by next season. Here's some excerpts from a transcript provided by the NFL:

On the latest with Adam Jones and if the league has started an investigation:

 

The answer is yes.  We're trying to determine all the facts.  It's clear there was some type of incident.  We want to understand all the facts. At this point right now, it's about making sure we understand exactly what did happen.

 

On the Raiders' press conference last week:

 

I watched the press conference like everyone else.  It was unfortunate that the circumstances had gotten to that point.  Both parties have moved on.  Hopefully, the Raiders can focus on winning football games going forward, and coach Kiffin can pursue whatever he decides to do.

 

I have not interjected myself.  There has been a lot of misinformation about a letter that I supposedly sent to the Raiders threatening them.  That is not the case.  During the press conference, Mr. Davis had made a point of a potential tampering case involving Randy Moss.  I take that seriously.  I asked if there were any facts that I should be made aware so we can pursue it as we do with any charge that's in violation of our rules.  That was the extent of my letter.  There's really no further statement from our standpoint at this juncture.

 

On any possible changes made by the NFL immediately due to the economy:

 

I have put it on three different levels.  How can we be impacted directly by the lack of credit in the market place, and does it affect instruments like stadium financing?  Secondly, does it affect our business partners that are so important to us like ESPN?  Thirdly, how does it affect our consumers? They are being impacted directly with this.  How will it impact their relationship with the NFL, whether it's in ticket buying or merchandise? There are so many ways our fans interact with us, and we want to see how the economy is affecting our fans.

 

 

Here's the NFL's Week 5 Press Notes:

Three teams seek to remain spotless...two keep a division steaming...and one finally returns home.
 
It all adds up to one thing:  a lot is happening in the NFL this week.  A few examples: 
 

• Two teams - the Buffalo Bills (4-0 for the first time in 16 years) and Tennessee Titans (4-0 for the first time in their history) will go for 5-0 records.  But it's only Week 5, they both say.  "We still have a chance to go 4-12," says Titans linebacker KEITH BULLUCK.    

• Another team - that other club in New York, the Super Bowl champion Giants who were quiet in their bye week while BRETT FAVRE was throwing six touchdown passes -- will look to up their record to 4-0 for the first time since 1990.   

• One game features a team (Tampa Bay) that has won its last three games after losing its first vs. a club (Denver) that won its first three and lost its last.  But "there's a lot of football left," says Broncos quarterback JAY CUTLER. "We can't go in a panic here."    

• Another game - the Indianapolis Colts at the Houston Texans - will be the first home game of the season for the Texans and signal some return of normalcy to Houstonians after the devastation of Hurricane Ike.

All that - and a whole lot more - is in store for Week 5.  As NFL teams either conclude the first quarter of their season, or start the second, who knows what's in store?  "That's the NFL," says Pittsburgh Steelers head coach MIKE TOMLIN, fresh off a thrilling Monday night win over Baltimore.  "That's what makes this thing so awesome.  You can't blink."

Going against the spread this week. Here's my choices (Home team bold):

Indianapolis -3 1/2 over Houston

Baltimore +3 over Tennessee

San Diego -6 1/2 over Miami

Kansas City + 9 1/2 over Carolina

Philadelphia -6 over Washington

Detroit +3 1/2 over Chicago

Green Bay OFF Atlanta

NY Giants -7 over Seattle

Tampa Bay +3 over Denver

San Francisco +3 over New England

Buffalo +1 over Arizona

Cincinnati +17 over Dallas

Jacksonville -3 over Pittsburgh

MONDAY NIGHT:

Minnesota +3 over New Orleans (LOCK OF THE WEEK)