NFL Moves Rams to Inglewood

The NFL owners voted by a resounding 30-2 vote to move the St. Rams to the Los Angeles area next year, ending a twenty-one year drought for the second biggest market in the country.  It is assumed that construction will begin immediately on the new $1.9 billion stadium in Inglewood.

Meanwhile, the fate of the San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders remains up in the air.  San Diego has two months to decide whether they will play in Los Angeles for the 2016 season and Oakland?  Their stadium lease has expired, meaning they are free to move anywhere they please, and one location being mentioned loudly and often is San Antonio.

Suffice it to say there is a whole lot of relocation about to happen in the NFL.

Let’s turn our attention to the Ram’s move to Inglewood.  What kind of economic impact will this franchise move have on the Inglewood area?

Interestingly, most economists agree that the economic impact of a sports stadium is about a one percent increase or, as one economists stated, about the same economic impact of a large department store.  Oh sure, this new Inglewood stadium will cost $1.9 billion, and new jobs will be created in the construction of the stadium, but once the Rams settle in and begin playing games there, very little will change in the economy.  This is primarily because the average sports fan has a limited income and limited dollars to spend on entertainment.  They may spend money to go to an NFL game, but that is just money they already earmarked for some sort of entertainment, so the net change is zero.

Where impact is felt is in the businesses closely located near the stadium, the related businesses like sports memorabilia and sports bars.  There  you will see an impact and increase, but the rest of Inglewood?  Economists are doubtful.

One other thing that is almost a certainty is that real estate values will increase near the stadium, and the city of Inglewood will see its tax base increase, all good things for sure for any city.

This is a time of great change in the NFL as well as in three NFL cities.