On Pro Football
By KEN BELSON
For years, the N.F.L. played cat and mouse with the city of Los Angeles. Every so often a team in, say, Minnesota, would threaten to move to L.A. in an effort to crowbar concessions out of its government leaders back home. Once the team got public financing, it stayed put.
To move the ball, AEG, the sports and entertainment group, and Majestic Realty Group, a big real estate developer, promised to build stadiums in Los Angeles County if a team would commit to moving. For years, none did.
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David Carter, who teaches sports business at the University of Southern California, said the reaction from AEG was part of a larger and somewhat inevitable process. When stadium proposals are first announced, their advocates have the first say. Then critics mobilize in opposition and try to derail the progress.
“For many years, the Southern California market was a carrot,” said Carter, who previously advised a developer as well as Los Angeles and several other cities that tried to lure an N.F.L. team. “These days, there are a bunch of people running around with sticks.”
A version of this article appears in print on March 2, 2015, on page D7 of the New York edition with the headline: In Los Angeles, Stadiums Battle Heats Up . Order Reprints| Today’s Paper|Subscribe
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