NFL back in thrall with Dodger Stadium's open spaces?

According to a report at CBS Sports.com, NFL owners have expressed new doubts about the AEG-City Hall plan to build a stadium at LA Live — in part because of AEG's wish to sell itself off — and revived their lust for the parking lots and abundant space around Dodger Stadium. "One highly-connected source maintained that Dodger Stadium has been and still is 'the preferred choice' of all the current options," the story says. The other options include a stadium near Home Depot Center in Carson, but concerns remain about the relative isolation of Majestic Realty's proposed stadium site in the city of Industry. In any case, the league "essentially ruled out" any move into Los Angeles before 2014, says CBS Sports' Jason La Canfora.

several league sources expressed doubt that the would-be buyers of AEG -- the entertainment giant is for sale and could fetch upwards of $10 billion -- would be willing to pour massive amounts of money into the downtown project, as the current deal for prospective funding required AEG to do. A change of ownership at AEG could also lead to a more viable agreement at that site, some inside the effort to build in Los Angeles suggested, though there remain significant issues regarding parking and infrastructure in this area.

Areas around Dodger Stadium, where parking and space is abundant, are highly desirable to the league, sources said, and discussions in that regard are ongoing. This site has not received the national attention of others, but is very logical, particularly if the Dodgers were to move downtown. I asked commissioner Roger Goodell about the area around Dodger Stadium during his post-meeting press conference, and he called it “a terrific site” and seemed enthused about the possibility. One highly-connected source maintained that Dodger Stadium has been and still is “the preferred choice” of all the current options.

Another site in Carson, Calif., just off the freeway close to where the LA Galaxy and Chivas of MLS play, remains on the NFL's radar as well. At the league meeting teams were apprised that the site did not receive some of the public funding earmarked for it, which has cast its viability in further doubt.

The league continues to monitor the possibility of a stadium in City of Industry, a long-standing option, but concerns remain about its lack of proximity to downtown and the relative remoteness of the areas directly surrounding the project (though a major commercial district has been proposed to surround the completed stadium).

The NFL has stressed that any LA stadium must be equipped to handle two teams, sources said.

Dodger Stadium parking lots: LA Observed