Kraft says L.A. should get pair of NFL teams

News Wire Reports

Published May 22, 2006 at midnight

Text size  

• 0 Comments
• Email
• Print

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger isn't the only guy who thinks the Los Angeles area deserves not only the return of NFL football but the return of NFL football doubled.

When Schwarzenegger recently suggested that the league not only bring back pro football to Los Angeles after a decade-long absence but send two teams, many saw it as political overreaching. But among "The Governator's" allies is one of the league's most powerful owners, New England's Robert Kraft.

Kraft, who serves on the committee overseeing the efforts to return the NFL to America's second-largest city, has long harbored a belief that it needs to happen before a generation of potential fans there is forever lost. But he has other reasons. Kraft is one of the most industrious and forward-thinking owners in the league, as his work rebuilding the tattered Patriots franchise into a billion-dollar entity has made clear, so he sees a two-team return to Southern California in global as well as national terms.

Kraft will be in Denver this week for a two-day owners meeting called to discuss both the Los Angeles expansion issue and the progress of the executive search firm making recommendations for a new commissioner to replace Paul Tagliabue.

"I didn't like the idea of us moving out of that area (when the Raiders left)," Kraft said.

"What's different today is they have two really strong mayors in Los Angeles and Anaheim and a solid situation. I could see both sites working out. If you took L.A. and Orange County as a separate country, they would have the 16th largest (gross domestic product) in the world," he said.

Kraft praised the forward-thinking nature of Los Angeles's new mayor, Antonio Villaraigosa, and Mayor Curt Pringle of Anaheim, and what Kraft believes is their ability to get the business community behind the effort.

Estimates to rebuild the Coliseum run as high as $800 million, though the projected cost of a new stadium in Anaheim are lower. The NFL is expected to set the expansion franchise fee at $700 million.

HARRISON SURGERY - Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Marvin Harrison will have elbow surgery today.

The surgery, which will be performed in his hometown of Philadelphia, is for an injury sustained during the 2005 season.

Harrison, who caught 82 passes for 1,146 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2005, left Sunday's final minicamp workout early to catch a flight.

"(The surgery) was planned, but we just couldn't get a late flight to get back him back there in time," coach Tony Dungy said.

"But he's doing fine and made it through four practices really well."

It will be Harrison's second surgery in recent months, after having treatment done on a wrist injury that he had sustained midway through last season.

Featured

• Through Your Lens

  

  Submit your photos or see the Editor's Choice slide show here.

• Rocky Multimedia

  

  The news comes alive in our videos and slide shows. Catch up on what's happening today.

• Holiday Lights

  

  Is your house the jolliest on the block? Submit your holiday lights display.

• Holiday Gift Guide

  

  Looking to get a jump-start on the holiday shopping season?

• Mount Crushmore

  

  Which four Broncos greats should be immortalized on Mount Crushmore? Vote here.

• Bronco Dean's rant

  

  Listen to Bronco Dean's midweek rant on the Chiefs.

• Broncos Video

  

  Get the latest from Dove Valley as the Broncos prepare for Sunday's matchup.

• Calendar wallpaper

  

  Download this month's desktop wallpaper calendar

• Sam Adams' Open Mic

  

  Open Mic: Stirrin' the Soup with Matt Iseman