Loving L.A.: $$ signs point to return of NFL in 2016

The much-discussed return of professional football to Los Angeles continues to pick up steam. NFL owners are holding their annual meeting this week in Phoenix, and several are saying that the league will probably kick off games here in 2016.

NFL owners are considering three stadium proposals as they meet in the Arizona desert. The one generating the most buzz is a plan by St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke for a stadium in Inglewood, on the site of the former Hollywood Park. Korenke is unveiling details to fellow owners this week. Two teams could call that stadium home.

Another new stadium proposal comes from the San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders. They want to build a shared facility in Carson. Meanwhile, real estate mogul Ed Roski’s proposal for a stadium in the City of Industry is still on the table.

As Angelenos know well, this isn’t the first time that stadium talk has heated up since the Rams and Raiders left town more than two decades ago. The difference this time is that team owners themselves are involved in the stadium discussion. Robert Kraft, the influential owner of the New England Patriots, told reporters at the NFL confab that “I really believe that in the next year, we will have two teams in that market.” Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, meanwhile, says a solution to the L.A. stadium puzzle is “in the crosshairs.”

The prospect of two teams in L.A. is appealing to members of the NFL billionaire’s club. But, so far, the only thing the NFL seems to have decided on for sure is that there won’t be a team here at the start of the 2015 season. Still, 2016 is looking like a good bet. Any team that moves here would have to find a temporary home while a new stadium is constructed. The Coliseum and the Rose Bowl are the most likely candidates.