Los Angeles has gone without an NFL team for 20 years, after the Rams and Raiders left for St. Louis and Oakland, respectively, before the 1995 season.
Couple that with the fact the NFL now is open to moving a team to London, and you would think the odds weren’t in favor of a football team returning to the City of Angels in the near future.
Magic Johnson, however, sees things a different way.
The Los Angeles Lakers great said at a joint Dallas Cowboys-Oakland Raiders practice Tuesday that he believes the city will have an NFL team within the next two years.
“I think for the first time, I truly believe we’re going to get a team. Finally,” Johnson said, via Yahoo! Sports.
Johnson was part of the ownership group that purchased the Los Angeles Dodgers from Frank McCourt in 2012, and he has played a large role within the L.A. business community through the years.
“Everybody is on board. The city is on board. The business community is on board. The NFL is on board,” Johnson said. “Finally we have momentum. In the next couple years, at least in the next 24 months, I think one team will be coming.”
Farmers Field, a proposed $1.5 billion football stadium in downtown Los Angeles, has been in the works since 2009. There also is a potential stadium site in the City of Industry, 20 miles east of L.A.
Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis visited with San Antonio officials in July to discuss the possibility of moving his franchise there. Johnson believes Davis should consider bringing the team back to L.A.
“It would be great to have the Raiders back in L.A.,” Johnson said. “I would love for that to happen.
“We just want a team, we want a team in the worst way.”
Photo via Twitter/@sportingnews
