Whoa: everyone's been talking about bringing the NFL to Chavez Ravine (home of Dodger Stadium) for ages, but now it sounds like there are serious talks underway to make it happen. In the course of some complicated legal wrangling, Dogers owner Guggenheim Baseball Management says it's in "highly sensitive discussions and negotiations with major sports entities regarding the potential use of the land surrounding Dodger Stadium," reports the LA Times. The paper adds that "Guggenheim and the NFL have met to discuss a stadium, according to people familiar with the talks but not authorized to comment on them." (Then again, maybe they're talking about an NBA or MLS or Arena Football team, who knows!) The wrench currently in the works is former Dodgers owner Frank McCourt--McCourt still owns a great deal of Chavez Ravine land and Guggenheim would have to work with him on development there. But Frank is in a nasty divorce with soon-to-be-ex Jamie McCourt, and she wants all the details of his partnership with Guggenheim; Guggenheim wants to keep that stuff secret as it negotiates with whatever potential sports league.
In Guggenheim's request to keep it all quiet, it "argued disclosure could damage Guggenheim's negotiating position and ultimately could 'deprive the citizens of Los Angeles of a potential sports franchise.'" As one expert points out, the NFL would probably want the McCourt information eventually, anyway. And he adds that "The issue at Chavez Ravine is not who owns or controls the land. The issue is if it is politically feasible."
LA Live developer AEG technically still has a plan in the works to bring the NFL to South Park, but the NFL has made it pretty clear it's way more interested in Chavez.
· Dodgers' owners seek to block disclosure of McCourt details [LAT]
· NFL Talking to Dodgers Owners About Football at Chavez Ravine [Curbed LA]
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