Los Angeles Takes Another Step Toward Landing NFL Team, League Expansion to 34 Teams Not Ruled Out

With the Steelers and Vikings in London this week, the annual rumors of moving a franchise to England abound once again. While the NFL focuses its attention across the pond for the time being, Los Angeles is making sure its bid for a team isn’t lost in the shuffle.

Los Angeles has been without an NFL franchise for 18 years now. The city is at least one step closer, as the Los Angeles city council’s economic development committee recently backed a resolution for the city to bring back one or two NFL teams, according to CBS Los Angeles.

The resolution will now make its way to the city council, where — if councilman Tom LaBonge‘s opinion is any indication — it should pass without hesitation.

“[It] puzzles me why, out of 32 teams, one doesn’t want to come here to sunny Southern California,” LaBonge said. “We’ve waited far too long to root for the home team. Our collective excitement for the new NFL season is dampened by Los Angeles’ lack of a team.”

Previously, the likelihood of returning a franchise to L.A. has seemed largely dependent on a current team, such as the Jacksonville Jaguars or San Diego Chargers, relocating. LaBonge envisions a different approach, saying  his “real hope is the league expands” from 32 to 33 or 34 teams.

The city is in the process of trying to build a new stadium, because with one the chances of the NFL returning a team in L.A. are nonexistent.

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