Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE

The city of Los Angeles is going to have an NFL franchise or two. That is inevitable what with the L.A. City Council approving all the necessary measures to make the downtown stadium shovel ready. All that remains now is to attract an NFL franchise.

Obviously the Oakland Raiders are in the conversation for re-relocation to Los Angeles. Whether or not that becomes a reality remains to be seen.

Judging by how long it took L.A. City to get to this point it wouldn’t be any surprise if getting a team to make the move becomes just as much of a conundrum. After all, relocating an NFL franchise is never a simple process. Raider Nation knows that all too well.

What the Nation isn’t exactly aware of is just exactly where owner Mark Davis stands on this hot button topic.

On the one hand, Davis has expressed his desire to keep the franchise rooted in Oakland. Recently the city of Oakland has taken baby steps towards renovating the Coliseum Complex in hopes of keeping the Raiders and A’s in the East Bay.

Now on the other hand there is the business factor that cannot be ignored. Mark might not have the acumen of his father Al Davis but he’s got an entire franchise in his hands. We already know that Mark has none of the free spending practices of his father. That means his eye is a little more focused on the bottom line than it is on the field.

That makes Mark Davis all the more willing to do whatever is best for the health of his business. Whereas Al simply did as he desired with no inclination to involve others in his decisions making process, his son is willing to seek counsel as evident by his hiring of Reggie McKenzie to run the football operations.

That means Mark Davis will do whatever is in the best interest of his franchise and all of its employees. It also means he’s not going to settle for watching his team play in an outdated stadium. As a business man he knows that perception is often reality.

The reality is all of us want to enjoy our place of work. It’s hard imagine a locker room full millionaires enjoys their work days in the Coliseum. Top tier free agents aren’t going to be blown away by touring the facility not to mention coaches and trainers who will surely seek better surroundings for their job duties.

In short, Mark Davis will have to do whatever is best to keep his franchise both afloat and relevant. If that means making the move to L.A. once again then it’s an option that cannot be ignored. Just don’t expect it to happen over night. There is far too much red tape to cut through before any reality of a SoCal Raiders reunion can become more than just talk.

Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE

So long as the Raiders are in Oakland they’ll always be rumored to return to Los Angeles. If they ever do make the move back to SoCal’s brightest beacon then the same rumors will spark for a return to the Bay. Such is the nature of football’s most infamous franchise.

Of course now that there are two bids to build stadiums in L.A. the odds of the NFL reintroducing itself to the Los Angeles market are greater then they’ve been since the Raiders and Rams left SoCal.

We’ve already outlined all reasons why the Raiders are likely to remain in the Bay but there was one factor I didn’t consider – the all powerful lord of football. I’m speaking, of course, of Roger Goodell.

Over the course of the last year, when the L.A. stadium development deals have really gained momentum, Goodell has made sure to keep his most profitable and untapped market under thumb. The league office has done everything it can to ensure two stadiums will be built in L.A. and now they’re trying to really get things going by opening the door to get two teams into said stadiums.

Goodell recently unveiled his L.A. doctrine proclaiming open season on relocation to Los Angeles.

Any franchise interested in relocating there for the 2013 season must apply between Jan. 1 and Feb. 15 of that year, and prove it has exhausted all attempts to remain in its current location. No plans are yet in place if no teams apply for 2013.

So there you have it. Goodell has thrown down the gauntlet and any team wishing to make the move to L.A. must meet his approval. Something tells me this is step that would have been avoided if Al Davis were still around. No way is Davis going to do anything on the league’s terms. Up to his last days Davis was still claiming to have a piece of the L.A. market.

But that’s Goodell for you. He’s become the bully of the football world and there isn’t an owner with enough cojones to stand up to him. These days the NFL ownership club is comprised of a bunch of yes men eager to do Goodell’s bidding.

Davis on the other hand was still as defiant as ever. The Raiders were the only team to abstain from voting on the new CBA and they were the only team handing out bloated contracts on the eve of the lockout. You get the picture.

So in the grand scheme of things the Raiders moving to L.A. is still a possibility. The difference this time is that should Mark Davis make the move he’ll be doing so on the commissioner’s terms. No telling how much of his father’s nature rubbed off on Mark Davis. But if he’s learned anything for his dad it’s to do things your own way. This new age of the cookie cutter NFL owner is already tired a played out. Here’s hoping Mark Davis does what is best for the franchise and not the NFL. Even if that means bringing the Raiders back to Los Angeles.

Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE

If you frequent JBB often enough then you know that I’m an L.A. Raiders fan. I’m a SoCal native that was fortunate enough to fall in love with football around the same time Al Davis brought the Raiders to Los Angeles. As heartbroken as I was to see the Silver and Black leave I knew they were going back to their rightful home so my support never waned.

In recent months it has become a popular topic to discuss the prospects of the Raiders returning to L.A. now that there are two bids in place to build stadiums. Of course that talk has recently increased now that AEG has its hands in the O.co Coliseum. With AEG fronting its own cash to construct a football stadium in the heart of Downtown L.A. it’s only natural to suspect that the Raiders making the move again is a very real possibility.

Even Mark Davis himself has fanned the flames by saying “Los Angeles is a possibility” given the Raiders’ desire to move into a new stadium.

As much as I’d love to see my Silver and Black back in L.A. even I know the odds of that are long.

First and foremost Mark Davis has said he’s not selling which means the Raiders will remain in the Davis family for decades barring sad set of circumstances. AEG is demanding a stake in any franchise that plays in their Downtown football complex. So you do the math on that.

Beyond the ownership issues, Roger Goodell himself has said he’d prefer not to relocate any NFL franchises instead hoping to expand the league. That would likely tie into the greedy desire of the owners to move to an 18-game season. In case last season’s lockout has been wiped from your memory the players shot that idea down so fast that it never even made it into one of the proposed CBAs drafted by the owners. As of now the 18-game schedule has been “tabled” to be discussed at a later date.

That leaves the Raiders in Oakland, where they belong, and my beloved City of Angels with potentially two empty football stadiums.

No matter the politics involved, getting football back to L.A. requires more than a great sports complex. It’s a start but it’s not going create enough momentum on its own to drag teams to the L.A. market. In case you haven’t noticed even teams like the Jacksonville Jaguars and all their tarp-covered seats are turning a nice profit thanks to the NFL’s amazing revenue sharing program.

There really isn’t a lot of incentive for an owner to up root and move. Not to mention it’s not like L.A. is starved for another pro team. Quiet as kept L.A. is one of the great sports cities you’ll find in and California is perhaps the best state for sports in the entire country. Just look at how many pro teams are profitable in L.A. and statewide. With or without pro football Los Angeles and California as a whole has gotten along just fine. So too has the NFL. So if it ain’t broke…