Several NFL team owners expressing interest in moving to Los Angeles

An NFL team could find its way to L.A. sooner rather than later with owners of franchises like the St. Louis Rams already publicly expressing the desire to move. There hasn’t been an NFL team since the L.A. Raiders in 1995. Although several owners have expressed interest in moving there since, those plans have fallen through every time.

However, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell revealed several organizations have communicated an interest in potential moves to L.A.

“There are teams that are interested that are trying to work their issues out locally,” said Goodell. “As a league, we haven’t got to that stage yet, and they would all be subject to relocation policy requirements.”

The early favorite to move to Los Angeles is the St. Louis Rams, who’ve already been an L.A. franchise. The L.A. Rams resided in Anaheim from 1980-1994, and they played in Los Angeles from 1946-1979.

It also helps that Rams owner Stan Kroenke joined forces with Stockbridge Capital Group to undergo the building of an 80,000-seat NFL stadium in Los Angeles. Goodell also spoke on Kroenke and the Rams potentially moving to L.A.

“Stan (Kroenke) has been working on the stadium issue with St. Louis, as you know, for several years,” Goodell said. “They had a very formal process as part of their lease. That process, we went through that entire process, it did not result in a solution that works for St. Louis or for the team. So I don’t think the stadium is a surprise to anybody in any market that is having these issues. There’s quite a bit of discussion about it and the St. Louis representatives seem determined to build a stadium. That’s a positive development -- something that we look forward to working on with them.”

If a team does move to L.A., it probably won’t be until the 2016 season or beyond as Goodell has already indicated the league will not allow a move before then.