Los Angeles Raiders? What Relocation to LA Could Look Like for the Raiders.
Dec 7, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; (Editor
City of Carson
Carson, a working-class industrial suburb of about 90,000 residents located in southeastern Los Angeles County, is another potential site for an NFL stadium. Much like Inglewood, Carson is a smaller, working-class city looking to revamp its image (the current image is one of oil refineries: Arco has a massive facility near the San Diego Freeway in Carson). Rumors of NFL interest in a site in Carson have been circulating since 2008, and remain persistent today as the NFL and Greater Los Angeles appear to be getting ready to be reunited.
The potential stadium site in Carson, which is currently owned by the County of Los Angeles, is a massive 172 acre complex that includes a former golf course and a public park, and sits adjacent to the San Diego (I-405) Freeway, the Harbor Freeway, and the home of the famous Goodyear Blimp. It’s not far from AEG’s Stub Hub Center (home to the LA Galaxy) and the campus of the Cal State University at Dominguez Hills. Aside from Majestic Realty’s massive 600-acre area that would include a ton of non-stadium development, it is the biggest potential site in play, dwarfing Inglewood’s 60 acres and Farmer’s Field’s 15 acres. The golf course and park sit atop former landfill, however, which prompts a few safety concerns about a stadium and a parking lot in earthquake country being atop a trash heap, but the County would undoubtedly enforce very rigorous safety standards on any potential stadium project.
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The Carson plan may be the favorite of LA County Supervisors, since the County would benefit directly from the sale and use of the land that they own and operate, and Los Angeles County has more money to operate with than most US States. It would also be good for the league, since they’d be essentially able to work with LA County to pick their own construction partner and manage the entire process from top to bottom, and they’d get their massive suburban stadium with their massive suburban parking lot. While Carson isn’t exactly public-transit adjacent, the site is located on the intersection of two major freeways and within a 10 minute drive of two others (the Gardena Freeway and the Long Beach Freeway), one of which features an express bus line, and the Blue and Green Lines of the LA Metro rail system both have stops that are relatively close by. Carson is also very central: Orange County is only a few exits away on the Gardena and San Diego Freeways, and Downtown LA is only a few exits up the Harbor Freeway, and the Westside and San Fernado Valley are directly connected to it by the San Diego Freeway. It wouldn’t have the sort of clout of a downtown Los Angeles location, but would be more central and easily accessible for fans than either the Ingelwood or City of Industry locations. It also is located in the heart of working-class Southeastern LA County, which is big-time Raider country. And Carson is a proven sports hub, as Stub Hub Center has been a very successful venue for soccer and other live sporting events over the past decade or so.