Frank McCourt hints that NFL still in play for Dodger Stadium

In a piece in this week's Los Angeles Business Journal, former Dodgers owner Frank McCourt says he's in LA about one week a month and that his partnership with the current Dodgers owners, Guggenheim Partners, is going great. I was interested in what he had to say about the future of the stadium parking lots that he retained an interest in when he sold the team and stadium. Sounds like plans are still afoot to develop on the lots — and he brought up the NFL as a factor. The story requires a subscription to read online.

That's not something we're spending a tremendous amount of time on right now. But at some point in the future, for sure. I think that Guggenheim has some ideas in terms of what they would like to develop by Dodger Stadium, so we'll be having conversations with them in the future.

LABJ: What's been discussed so far?

We're in a very preliminary phase. There's a lot swirling around regarding the NFL and all that, so i think we'll see what plays out in various locations and then we'll see what they want to do.

LABJ: Do you think it's still an alternative site for a National Football League venue?

I think it's an alternative….I think that Chavez Ravine has always been a preferred location for the NFL. But there's a big difference between something being preferred location and it actually happening….

I have a high level of confidence that something spectacular will happen at the right time in the future.

McCourt wouldn't speak to the Dodgers' current troubles getting their games on television in Los Angeles, due to stalled negotiations over price between service providers and Time Warner Cable, but noted that it was under his watch as owner that all games became televised for the first time.

File photo of McCourt in happier times