Need some NFL clarification
 

I keep hearing that there are a couple teams wanting to move to Los Angles. The teams I have heard that are thinking of doing this are the Saints and the Vikings. ESPN100 (in Chicago) reported this a few times and the last I heard of it was last week. Can anyone explain what the deal is with these teams moving and what it will take to keep those teams at their present cities? I'm more of a historic guy and I would hate for the NFL to start moving those teams around.

Simple: Stadium deals. Either the cities listed pony up, or the teams threaten to move. Had also heard last year Cincinnati and Indianapolis were in the mix, probably not the Bengals anymore.

Wow, Indy too huh. I think they finalized a deal sometime this past year for a new stadium so that should stop them from moving.

I'm not a Vikings fan (I'm a Bears fan) but I would hate to see a division rival move.

I believe that the Vikings have been up for sale the last 2yrs. One of the reasons that Tice is maintained as head coach: He's cheap. And when you look to sell a franchise in any sport, you want the bottom line as low as possible. IMO, I would put the Vikes at the top of the list for possible sale/move.

Being sold is OK as long as they stay in Minnesota. There have been some good games between them and the Bears. I guess we shall see.

Thats a good idea. The Jags are fairly new (10 yrs) so losing the historic part of it wouldn't be to bad. I hate seeing any team move but if it had to be, I would rather see a newer team move.

Anyone that thinks the Vikings are going anywhere are crazy. Tagliabue and a large majority of the owners would never let it happen.

Like I said, I heard this on ESPN radio and they mentioned them close to the top of the list. Because it came from ESPN doesn't make it true but just the fact that the Vikings name was invloved kinda erked me.

I live here and i can tell you the Jags arent going anywhere anytime soon. The stadium is enormous which is a good thing but for some reason the past 4 years the team has done little to nothing to endear themselves to the community. Off the top of my head i cant think of anything special that they do here to get the city excited about the players.

Its not the stadium size that counts. Lions had the Silverdome, largest in league at 80,000 seats and had the worst deal cause they got nothing from the concessions business or parking. Its all about Luxury boxes, concessions revenue and parking.

You're living in a dreamland if you think the Vikings aren't one of the top 2 teams the NFL is targeting for a move.

They want to be in LA more than they want to maintain history, rivalries, etc.

Won't be as enormous next year.

Are they taking seats out? It wouldn't be a bad idea. They may not sell out, but they are 14th in attendance overall for the year. Arizona is the worst at almost half the Jaguars' average attendance.

I think the new stadium in Arizona will end up being a big mistake. Arizona has never cared about that team, and it's already been a team historically on the move (Chicago-> St. Louis -> Arizona). It would have made the most sense just to keep there journey west going and dump them in L.A.

I disagree.

Covering seats. You have to sell out or it kills you.

I've heard the rumblings that they don't mind not being in LA as that gives them the ability to put on the best national games on TV and from that they get better ratings they could get if they had to show the local team. I don't know what the exact numbers are but it does make some sense.

yup shouldnt be as hard next season

The Colts and Indy came to an agreement. Funding for the stadium, which was proposed to include pull-tabs (basically slot machines), still needs to be hashed out. If the legislature approves it the retractable roof stadium is set to open in 2008.