Feb. 20--With the San Diego Chargers and the Oakland Raiders the latest teams to move toward reclaiming Los Angeles as an NFL city, the question is: Where would they play while their proposed $1.7 billion stadium in Carson is built?
The Rose Bowl could be a possible temporary home for an NFL team.
The historic stadium is already home for UCLA football.
"The long-term stadium solution has to be really real for us to have meaningful discussion," said Darryl Dunn, general manager of the Rose Bowl Operating Co. "Up to this point that hasn't occurred."
Dunn said he had not been contacted by the Raiders or Chargers.
In November 2012, the Pasadena City Council adopted an environmental impact report and voted to increase the number of events at the stadium from 12 to 25 each year. In January 2014, the city won a lawsuit that was filed by neighbors of the stadium, but the case is under appeal and is expected to be heard in the next few months, Dunn said.
"This isn't a new concept," Dunn said of an NFL team playing at the Rose Bowl. "We've identified NFL interim opportunities as something that could potentially occur. We'll just cross that bridge.... It seems like there is a lot of smoke at the moment."
And not just about the Chargers and Raiders heading to Carson. St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke is part of a development group planning to build an 80,000-seat stadium in Inglewood, which could possibly be a new home for his team.
Dunn said the Rose Bowl could become involved once a plan for a real stadium was in place.
"Whether it's Carson or Hollywood Park or Farmers Field, that's the deal that has to happen to create the interim opportunity," he said.
