The NFL is officially kicking the tires on the Los Angeles market.
Beginning Tuesday, the league will begin a formal market assessment of the L.A. area. The NFL will email questionnaires to about 2,000 potential customers to better gauge the demand for a team and what people want in terms of a stadium, seating and amenities.
The fact that the NFL is conducting a survey is not necessarily earthshaking news, nor is it an indication that a return to L.A. is imminent. However, it is an incremental step in the process, indicating that the league has intensified its attention on the nation's second-largest market.
The St. Louis Rams, San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders are all on year-to-year leases and are unhappy with their current venues. All have expressed interest in the L.A. market, either publicly or privately, and last year Rams owner Stan Kroenke purchased 60 acres of potential stadium land in Inglewood.
Last week, Anschutz Entertainment Group secured a six-month extension of the Farmers Field agreement in hopes of attracting an NFL team or teams to play in a downtown stadium. The NFL is also evaluating two potential sites in Carson.
Independent sites and prospective stadium developers have conducted similar studies in the past but this is the first time since the late 1990s that the NFL has conducted a comprehensive survey on the market.
The survey, which draws from several databases, is random in that the NFL is not picking entirely from a pool of people who have already identified themselves as football fans. However, the league is aiming the questionnaire at potential premium customers who are more likely to buy suites, club seats or season tickets, as opposed to the occasional game ticket.
At league meetings in New York earlier this month, NFL owners got an update from league staff on potential stadium sites in the L.A. area, but no timetable on a return to the market.
If an NFL team intends to relocate, it must inform the league during a two-month window that opens at the end of the regular season.