Should there be an NFL franchise in Los Angeles?

Fair enough.

people are always against change of any sort. check out the instant replay in baseball issue if you don't think so. Putting a team in LA \constitutes a change so there will certainly be opposition.

There's one in the evidence I posted below, and here are a couple more.

Emmett Wilks, 411mania

While Los Angeles has a huge throng of great football fans, that city simply does not deserve another team.

Joe Donatelli, Football Digest

The heart of the matter, which is this: The people of Los Angeles, by and large, do not care if the city gets a pro football team. Poll results and anecdotal evidence show there is only slight interest in landing a new team and certainly nothing close to what might be called popular support.

My only argument against this issue is, are there many people making the case against adding a team in LA?

You're right, "franchise" is better than "team".

Another franchise people are talking about is the St. Louis Rams (NO!!!) b/c their owner just passed away and there are stadium issues here (ours sucks).

Also, L.A. has a new gigantic stadium/entertainment complex in the works.

So, it could be either expansion or relocation.

in this piece of evidence Bradshaw wants a team in LA.

'add' and 'expand' imply that the league will, well, expand. There's also the notion that LA could absorb a franchise that currently exists from a smaller market. An examples of franchise in danger are Buffalo (). I don't think that's as likely, but it's an option.

Kyle's wording works for me. I smell a hint of bias though.

Should Los Angeles have an NFL franchise?

Not sure that's all that different from the current wording. I'd prefer 'franchise' instead of 'team', however.

Should the NFL expand the league to Los Angeles?

Should the NFL add a team in Los Angeles?

Very good issue.

Robert Kraft (Patriots owner)

Kraft will be in Denver this week for a two-day owners meeting called to discuss both the Los Angeles expansion issue and the progress of the executive search firm making recommendations for a new commissioner to replace Paul Tagliabue. "I didn't like the idea of us moving out of that area (when the Raiders left)," Kraft said. "What's different today is they have two really strong mayors in Los Angeles and Anaheim and a solid situation. I could see both sites working out. If you took L.A. and Orange County as a separate country, they would have the 16th largest (gross domestic product) in the world," he said.

Arnold Schwarzenegger

After meeting with the owners, the actor-turned-politician emerged to say he was there to make sure "we're getting not only one NFL team to the Los Angeles area, Southern California, but to actually get two teams. That's why I came. Why limit it?"

Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa

Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said the City Council has already agreed to allow for up to $25 million in local tax revenues generated by a stadium renovation to be earmarked for redevelopment projects around the Coliseum. "It's a deal they can't refuse," Villaraigosa said. "Los Angeles makes the absolute best sense."

David Sweet, MSNBC.com

Why would owners want an expansion team in Los Angeles? That would cut into their take on shared income (television revenue alone exceeds $100 million per team a year) ... Two pro sports franchises leaving town the same year should cause an uproar. When the Raiders and Rams departed in 1994, Angelenos yawned before going surfing. ... the Raiders drew 45,000 or so fans on Sundays to the cavernous Coliseum. No team in the league averages such a tiny crowd. Sponsors were unheard of during their tenure in the Southland. Why would a new team do any better? ... USC and UCLA offer more than enough football for the town. Attendance is soaring for both teams.

Mel Kiper, Jr.

I think L.A. can sustain a pro football team ... Los Angeles deserves a team and there will be one there sometime in the near future.