# Why doesn't Los Angeles have a football team **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [December 16, 2009, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-los-angeles-have-a-football-team/521438 "2009-12-16T02:46:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2009, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-los-angeles-have-a-football-team/521438/41 "2009-12-16T19:24:14Z")
> [@elmwood](#): > > The Bills aren’t moving to Toronto. First off, the Toronto games have largely been a huge failure. Meh. Ralph Wilson is 91. When he dies the team will be gone in less than five years. The current stadium is not set up for the luxury boxes that make the real money and Buffalo couldn’t support them anyway. Toronto is a much bigger tv market as well. The move may be a failure in the future. That doesn’t mean it won’t happen in the short term. ---
**Author:** ![Oredigger77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oredigger77/32/3181_2.png) [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2009, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-los-angeles-have-a-football-team/521438/42 "2009-12-16T19:32:58Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I wonder what the closest is. Depending on what you classify as the “heart of downtown,” the Chicgao Bears play 1.8 miles from Madison and State (from where the N/S and E/W coordinates of Chicago are defined.) That’s a reasonable definition of heart of downtown for Chicago. Any others closer? Mile High is 1.8 miles in a straight line from the capitol building and about 2 to drive it. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2009, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-los-angeles-have-a-football-team/521438/43 "2009-12-16T19:37:51Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > The move may be a failure in the future. That doesn’t mean it won’t happen in the short term. The move also might well destroy the CFL, and its value as a development league for the NFL. There might be some resistance from both leagues to ending the handshake agreement. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2009, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-los-angeles-have-a-football-team/521438/44 "2009-12-16T19:50:41Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I wonder what the closest is. Depending on what you classify as the “heart of downtown,” the Chicgao Bears play 1.8 miles from Madison and State (from where the N/S and E/W coordinates of Chicago are defined.) That’s a reasonable definition of heart of downtown for Chicago. Any others closer? Ford Stadium for the Lions is off Woodward Ave. near downtown Detroit. They are next to the Tigers stadium. Both in the city. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2009, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-los-angeles-have-a-football-team/521438/45 "2009-12-16T20:17:32Z")
Monument Circle to Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis is 0.5 miles. Cincinnati is pretty much moving the center of the city directly between the football and baseball stadium, both in the heart of [downtown](http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Cincinnati,+OH&sll=39.764066,-86.161289&sspn=0.018638,0.033002&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Cincinnati,+Hamilton,+Ohio&ll=39.098661,-84.512372&spn=0.018817,0.033002&t=h&z=15). St. Louis’ stadium is also 0.5 miles from the Arch as well as the Old Courthouse, which is I believe where you’d put the “heart” of downtown. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2009, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-los-angeles-have-a-football-team/521438/46 "2009-12-16T20:36:08Z")
ElvisL1ves: > [@](#): > > The move also might well destroy the CFL, and its value as a development league for the NFL. How much value does it really have in that capacity? ---
**Author:** ![St.Urho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e7dd6/32.png) [@St.Urho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/St.Urho)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-los-angeles-have-a-football-team/521438/47 "2009-12-17T00:24:58Z")
> [@Oredigger77](#): > > Mile High is 1.8 miles in a straight line from the capitol building and about 2 to drive it. The Pepsi Center and Coors Field are about the same distance, if not closer, too. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-los-angeles-have-a-football-team/521438/48 "2009-12-17T00:33:06Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Another example for “weak fans” that often gets trotted out in these discussions is the phenomenon of fans leaving Dodger games in the 7th inning, in order to beat traffic. Again, I’m not sure if this is indicative of much (or even if it’s true). I don’t know how indicative it is, but it’s certainly true. LA seems to be the only town where being a season ticket holder is a status symbol, but no indication of being a die hard fan. In fact, it’s the season ticket holders who tend to leave early and/or arrive really late for the baseball and basketball games. They’ve established their status by owning the seat, so there’s no reason to actually _be_ there all the time. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-los-angeles-have-a-football-team/521438/49 "2009-12-17T00:34:52Z")
San Francisco is very small, and Candlestick is about as far away from the city center as it can be and still be inside the city limits. ---
**Author:** ![tr0psn4j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@tr0psn4j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tr0psn4j)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-los-angeles-have-a-football-team/521438/50 "2009-12-17T00:35:14Z")
We riot when the Lakers win. Can you imagine what would happen if the Raiders come back, win a few games and we have some Raiders fans “celebrating?” ---
**Author:** ![Soul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Soul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soul)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-los-angeles-have-a-football-team/521438/51 "2009-12-17T00:40:43Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I wonder what the closest is. Depending on what you classify as the “heart of downtown,” the Chicgao Bears play 1.8 miles from Madison and State (from where the N/S and E/W coordinates of Chicago are defined.) That’s a reasonable definition of heart of downtown for Chicago. Any others closer? The Georgia Dome is technically in Downtown Atlanta and is within easy walking distance of pretty much everything. ---
**Author:** ![AdmiralCrunch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6f9a4e/32.png) [@AdmiralCrunch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AdmiralCrunch)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-los-angeles-have-a-football-team/521438/52 "2009-12-17T01:13:17Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > I’m sure **633squadron** was just making a snarky comment about the quality of the Cleveland (and Detroit) teams. > > As far as LA having a pro team, they certainly do. It’s just that [they](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USC_Trojans) play in the Pac-10 rather than the NFL. I expect that in most years they could probably beat the Detroit Lions… Save the hyperbole for years when USC is in the AP top 25. Even the Lions can beat Washington. I think having two major college programs in the city sucks up a lot of fanbase. Additionally, a big chunk of LA’s population are transplants from NYC or Boston, with diehard allegiances intact. On top of that, over 40% of the population speaks Spanish as first language, and less likely to be as passionate about the football that uses hands. Plus LA Xtreme won the XFL in its first and only season, no where to go but down. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-los-angeles-have-a-football-team/521438/53 "2009-12-17T02:24:55Z")
> [@elmwood](#): > > Also, the market area for the Buffalo Bills includes Rochester and much of Southern Ontario. The Bills now play one game a year in Toronto and there are a huge number of people who think that they will move here when Wilson dies. However, those people don’t seem to understand that The Rogers Centre (formerly SkyDome) is a woefully small stadium by NFL standards. There is no question the population could support the team but stadium is an issue, like it is in LA. As far as LA goes, the city has 2 Baseball teams, 2 Basketball team, 2 Hockey teams and 2 major colleges. Not to mention a climate that allows you to be out-doors for much of the year. For whatever reason NFL was the sport/league that was the odd man out there. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-los-angeles-have-a-football-team/521438/54 "2009-12-17T02:45:34Z")
> [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](#): > > Clearly you haven’t sent much time around AT&T Park. Or even Pacific Bell Park, as redevelopment in that area was well underway back then.. I certainly have the Caltrain station is a block away. But the development there has little to do with the ballpark, other than the fact that development was allowed- something which is rare in San-NIMBY-Francisco. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-los-angeles-have-a-football-team/521438/55 "2009-12-17T07:54:47Z")
> [@AdmiralCrunch](#): > > Save the hyperbole for years when USC is in the AP top 25. Even the Lions can beat Washington. That was why I said most years. But it was meant to be a snark at Detroit rather than USC boosterism. In fact I don’t like the Trojans at all, and schadenfreude-wise, the only team I like losing more than them is the Huskies. ---
**Author:** ![fusoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecccb3/32.png) [@fusoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fusoya)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-los-angeles-have-a-football-team/521438/56 "2009-12-17T17:15:02Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I wonder what the closest is. Depending on what you classify as the “heart of downtown,” the Chicgao Bears play 1.8 miles from Madison and State (from where the N/S and E/W coordinates of Chicago are defined.) That’s a reasonable definition of heart of downtown for Chicago. Any others closer? Seattle. The baseball & football stadiums are an easy walk from downtown, can’t be more than a mile. BTW, keep in mind that even though Giants Stadium is 7 miles from downtown NYC as the crow flies, there’s still the Hudson River in the way, as well as a TON of traffic congestion. It can easily take an hour to get from Times Square to the stadium, no matter which form of transit you are taking. Coming back is even worse because roughly the entire crowd is leaving at the same time. This is one of the reasons that I NEVER go to Meadowlands events. New Jersey Transit just built an extension to the stadium, but only run it for events that more than 30,000 people are expected to attend, which means football and U2-esque concerts. Also keep in mind that the Giants and Jets originally DID play in New York City proper. They just kept the name when they were relocated to Rutherford. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-los-angeles-have-a-football-team/521438/57 "2009-12-17T17:57:25Z")
> [@fusoya](#): > > Also keep in mind that the Giants and Jets originally DID play in New York City proper. They just kept the name when they were relocated to Rutherford. The relocation to East Rutherford moved them closer to Times Square. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-los-angeles-have-a-football-team/521438/58 "2009-12-17T20:09:09Z")
> [@toofs](#): > > Because we hoped all the gang members would follow the Raiders to Oakland! Well, I certainly had hoped that – waitaminute. Oakland? They just moved back up to Oakland? I thought they were going to New Zealand! ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-los-angeles-have-a-football-team/521438/59 "2009-12-17T20:26:57Z")
> [@633squadron](#): > > I don’t think there’s a factual answer, only opinions. Why doesn’t Detroit have a NFL team? Why doesn’t Cleveland? Why does NY claim to have 2, when they both in fact play in New Jersey? Why do Buffalo and Green Bay, neither of which is a thriving metropolis, both have NFL teams? The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind… I’m sure it’s been brought up (I haven’t finished going through the thread), but The Detroit Lions are located in the city of Detroit. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2009, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-los-angeles-have-a-football-team/521438/60 "2009-12-17T20:32:32Z")
> [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](#): > > I’m sure it’s been brought up (I haven’t finished going through the thread), but The Detroit Lions are located in the city of Detroit. The reference to Detroit and Cleveland was sarcasm. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-los-angeles-have-a-football-team/521438.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-los-angeles-have-a-football-team/521438.md?page=4)