The ruling stands

In the latest installment of the National Football League-to-Los Angeles saga, Pasadena City Council members voted 7 to 1 in favor of increasing the annual limit of big-time events at the Rose Bowl from 12 to 25.  The motive for adding dates lies primarily in temporarily bringing an NFL team (sic: the Jacksonville Jaguars) to the area while a new stadium in Los Angeles is finalized.  While the league, media, and NFL fans across the country would love for the entertainment capital of the world to have a team call Hollywood home the vote’s largest opponent may be its sternest competition: Pasadena residents.

Over 100 people in disapproval of the movement were in attendance for the 5+ hour debate to voice their stance.  Their cry: adding 8 NFL home games to the stadium’s billing will ultimately bring unwanted disruption to Pasadena.  Among their concerns are the capabilities of the local firefighting resources and traffic on Avenue 64.  The area can anticipate 25,000 additional vehicles and will also plan for closings of the Brookside Golf Course, Rose Bowl Aquatics Center, and the Kidspace Museum each Sunday.  In turn, leaders of surrounding communities have threatened to send the approval back to the courtroom with a potential lawsuit.

Though the vote may be moot, Los Angeles has yet to confirm serious interest from any of the league’s 32 teams.  Speculation on possible suitors has included the Jaguars, the Buffalo Bills, San Diego Chargers, and even one-time L.A. residents St. Louis Rams and Oakland Raiders.

With the exponentially increasing popularity in sports gambling and fantasy sports alike, the NFL is an entirely different animal from what it was when Los Angeles last had a team.  It can be expected that any of the above mentioned teams, especially the Jaguars (whom were recently purchased for $770 million), would see an immediate increase in value.  The league’s most valuable team, the Dallas Cowboys, alone are worth over $2 billion.  The media exposure of a new team would propel the NFL’s already-stupid amount of coverage into a new stratosphere.