The CEO and founder of database giant Oracle, Larry Ellison, has been championing the notion of bringing football back to Los Angeles, and as usual he's willing to put his money where his mouth is.
However, since the departure of the Rams to St. Louis and the return of the Raiders to Oakland, Calif., the league has more or less snubbed the country's second largest city in favor of other locales — most recently Houston. Now, Los Angeles may have another uphill battle the next time the league opts to expand or move a franchise.
New commissioner Roger Goodell told reporters Wednesday afternoon that the league would like to expand beyond the U.S. borders. It already plans to test the waters by playing a regular season game abroad next season. The possible host cities include Cologne and Frankfurt, Germany, London, Mexico City and Toronto. Obviously, the two North American cities, Mexico City and Toronto, are the most likely candidates for expansion because a move into Europe would entail too many logistical headaches that are not worth discussing.
Ellison's likely rivals in a bidding process would include Rogers Communications magnate, Ted Rogers, who owns Major League Baseball's Blue Jays and perhaps Mexican financier Carlos Slim Helu. Rogers' associate Paul Godfrey, the president of the Jays, has been overseeing an unsuccessful 17-year campaign to lure a NFL franchise to Canada's largest city, according to Canada's National Post.
The National Post claims that Rogers' consortium has its eyes on the Buffalo Bills, which is owned by 88-year-old Ralph Wilson,
whose heirs would be subject to onerous inheritance taxes should he die. Consequently, it is widely believed the Wilson family would sell the team. However, the NFL owners, who approve team moves, may balk at moving the only team that actually plays in New York state — especially if Albany offers incentives to keep the team in Buffalo. Of course, Ellison's would face the same trouble should he bid on the Bills in an attempt to move the team to L.A. —Matthew Wurtzel
See story from Reuters
See story from The National Post
See related story from The Wall Street Journal (subscription required)
See prior post from Dealscape
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give the rams to la
and another team to las-vegas
forget out of coutry teams