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NFL plans in Los Angeles: I’m not sold yet

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I’ll be the first to say that I’m not sold on Ed Roski’s plan to build an NFL stadium in Industry. That’s not a knock on Roski, the billionaire real-estate magnate who helped build Staples Center, nor is it a criticism of the concept.

It’s a cool-looking plan, and I don’t think the location is a huge inconvenience because, unlike an arena that has events every night, a stadium would be in use only about 25 times a year. It’s that, according to my sources (and I’ve compiled a lot of them after years of covering the on-again, off-again saga of the NFL and Los Angeles), this deal isn’t getting the kind of traction it needs to get for something to really happen with it.

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Besides the fact that it’s a terrible time to do one of these mega-deals, the league hasn’t made moving back to the L.A. market a priority. And with the clock winding down on the collective-bargaining agreement, and a player strike not out of question, that makes a move to L.A. (along with the burden of paying off, say, a $1-billion stadium) even more risky.

And that’s just for starters. Anyway, I was on the phone this morning with John Semcken, Roski’s right-hand man, who was quoted last month by the San Gabriel Valley Tribune as saying he has “no doubt” an NFL team will be playing in L.A. by next season.

That’s right, next season.

The newspaper also quoted him saying he had a “handshake deal” with the Rose Bowl to use that stadium as the temporary home for a team while Roski’s stadium was being built.

Today, Semcken told me he was not quoted accurately in the story. Later I spoke with Frank Pine, senior editor for San Gabriel Valley Newspaper Group, who was one of three people who were present for the interview with Semcken. He told me, ‘We stand by our story.’

I didn’t write about the NFL in 2009 statement at the time, because, frankly, I’ve chased too many ghosts on this story over the last eight years. Things just aren’t that far along with this project. If and when it gathers more momentum, I’ll pick up the trail. Regardless, look for my Q&A session with Semcken later tonight on latimes.com.

-- Sam Farmer

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