AEG Has Spoken With 5 NFL Teams About Move to L.A. (Report)

AEG has spoken to five NFL teams about a move to Los Angeles, and billionaire Philip Anschutz is prepared to acquire majority ownership in any franchise in his bid to bring a team to the proposed Farmers Field, the Orange County Register reported.

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AEG president Tim Leiweke said he has spoken with officials from the Minnesota Vikings, San Diego Chargers, Oakland Raiders, St. Louis Rams and Jacksonville Jaguars.

“St. Louis, Jacksonville, not extensively, certainly Oakland, San Diego, Minnesota are still in the mix,” Leiweke told the newspaper in listing the teams AEG has spoken with. But he added, “We're not packing any (moving) vans right now.”

Leiweke also said AEG is prepared to pay the cost of what a franchise would have to pay to get out of a lease to relocate to Los Angeles.

“Just as an example, if it's San Diego, they would have to pay $24 million under their agreement to get out of the lease,” Leiweke said. “We would pay that.”

The Vikings are pursuing a $1.05 billion stadium proposal in which Ramsey County and the state of Minnesota would pick up $650 million of the tab. The Chargers also are in search of a new stadium, and Jacksonville plays in the NFL’s smallest market and has attendance problems.

The Rams and Raiders left the L.A. area 16 years ago, leaving the nation’s No. 2 market without a NFL team.

Anschutz’s AEG is negotiating with the city to build the 70,000-seat Farmers Field and a new convention center hall to replace the aging West Hall.