GlobeSt.com
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January 23, 2017
Los Angeles | Retail | Industrial
Can L.A. Sustain Two Football Teams?
LOS ANGELS—The San Diego Chargers is officially Los Angeles’ second
football team, but they may have an up-hill battle as the Rams have already
made their mark on the city and its real estate.
By Kelsi Maree Borland
LOS ANGELS—It is official. By the end of the year,
Los Angeles will have two football teams. After decades
sans an NFL team—and ardent pleads for one—both
the Rams, formerly of Saint Louis, and the Chargers,
formerly of San Diego, will call Los Angeles home. Last
year, the real estate industry collectively rejoiced over the
Rams’ move to Los Angeles. After all,The Hollywood Park
development, which will house the team’s home stadium,
is expected to spur major growth in the Inglewood
market, along with leasing activity from ancillary real
estate in everything from training facilities to retail. For
the Chargers, however, the cheers are more muted.
“The overall concept [of two football teams] is great,
but I do have some concerns in terms of the sustainability
of two teams,” Jonathan Larsen, principal and managing
director at Avison Young, tells GlobeSt.com. “The Rams
came in strong and had a lot of fans and enthusiasm, but
LA fans tend to be fair weathered. The Rams season
started out strong with attendance, but as games were
lost, there were a lot of empty seats toward the end of
the season.The Chargers are coming in with a smaller fan
base in LA, a dismal last season, and they are entering the
market as the second NFL team.”
The smaller fan base and failing record won’t help the
Chargers stimulate as much growth as the Rams forecasts,
especially because the latter team is getting a new stadium;
however, Larsen says that long-term growth will depend
on both teams winning and building a loyal fan base.This is
especially true for the Hollywood Park stadium’s success.
“The impact of what the Rams are building in regards to
the state-of-the-art stadium, retail, office and hospitality
are great for Inglewood and the greater Los Angeles
Jonathan Larsen is a principal and managing director at Avison Young.
region,” says Larsen. “As typical of large sports venues, it
will need to be utilized for other events to draw a more
consistent flow of consumer traffic and subsequently new
businesses and jobs. The stadium will be the center of
the economic draw for the area and if it is successful at
keeping attendance up, ‘all boats will rise with the tide.’ If
the teams can be competitive, the long-term impact will
be a big success for Inglewood and all of its surrounding
businesses.”
For the Chargers, gaining a fervent fan base to stimulate
growth will be more difficult. Additionally, the team is
going to play at the Stubhub Center in Carson, a smaller
stadium on the Cal State San Dominguez Hills Campus.
“The Chargers certainly have to fight an uphill battle,”
says Larsen. “Overall, the Rams have a good fan base here
in L.A., and I don’t believe that the Chargers will take fans
away from the Rams. The Rams also have a head start in
this market, which is certainly an advantage.”
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