After 21 years of waiting for a National Football League (NFL) franchise, used-to-be St Louis Rams is returning home to Los Angeles.
There is no questioning that the National Football League is going to have a franchise based in L.A., as NFL is not the type of entity to let an opportunity to increase its profits and brand awareness slip on the edge. But the real question is, which NFL team ends the NFL’s 21-year absence from the second-largest media market in the US?
NFL owners voted 30-2 Tuesday night to allow the St. Louis Rams to move LA and build a stadium in Inglewood, California. The San Diego Chargers was given a one-year option to share the facility while the Oakland Raiders, who also wanted to move to the area, could move to LA if San Diego doesn’t.
“Relocation is a painful process. It’s painful for the fans, for the communities, for the league in general,” said NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. “In some ways a bittersweet moment, because we were unable to get the kind of facilities done we wanted in their markets.”