The St. Louis Rams are coming back to Los Angeles -- and that is good news for meeting groups and visitors to the city, according to L.A.'s tourism organization. On Jan. 12, the football team's leadership announced that after leaving Southern California in 1995, the Rams would be returning, settling in the former Hollywood Park racetrack in Inglewood, CA, about 10 miles from downtown Los Angeles.
This not only means a return of one of the city's legacy teams, but a return of the National Football League (NFL) after a 21-year absence from the second-largest city in the country. Ernest Wooden Jr., president and CEO of L.A. Tourism, expressed enthusiasm about the announcement, and its potential for visitors, and for large-scale events more generally.
"Not only will this provide visitors from around the globe one more enticing reason to choose Los Angeles for their next getaway, but the Inglewood stadium plans provide the city an incredible asset that will have economic impact long after an NFL season ends," Wooden said. "Having a stadium with a retractable roof now means that our partner, the Los Angeles Sports & Entertainment Commission, can actively pitch for mega events like the NCAA Final Four and Super Bowl -- events which yield a large economic impact for Los Angeles and our residents."
The Rams may not be the only team making a comeback to the City of Angels. The Oakland Raiders and San Diego Chargers have also recently submitted their own proposal to share a new stadium in Carson, CA. That proposal did not receive the 24 votes from NFL leadership required for approval, which the Rams' proposal garnered after a day of negotiating and re-voting on Jan. 12. For now, the city's tourism organization is plenty happy to have at least one football team.
"The tourism implications of the NFL and Rams franchise (and possibly another franchise) returning to Los Angeles are tremendously significant," said Wooden.