Garcetti says luring NFL team to L.A. a priority, but ‘on our terms’

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said Thursday that he remained committed to luring a professional football team to the city after nearly two decades without one, but was not counting on one to spur economic growth downtown.

“I think having [the] NFL in Los Angeles is a priority,” Garcetti said after an event celebrating the opening of a new Microsoft office in Playa Vista. “It’s great. It’s important. But I also know that a lot of people have strived for a long time. And we’ve been very clear that we won’t do ‘anything’ to have the NFL. It has to be on our terms.”

The city approved a tentative deal last year with developer Anschutz Entertainment Group for construction of a 72,000-seat stadium downtown near Staples Center.

It requires AEG to persuade the National Football League to move a team to L.A., but the developer has shown no public sign of progress.

“I think we put together a good deal downtown that I hope moves forward,” Garcetti said. “But at the end of the day, you know, I’m focused on a broad economic development strategy that doesn’t depend on [the] NFL.”

City Councilman Tom LaBonge introduced a resolution this week to reaffirm the city’s support for bringing a football team to Los Angeles.

“When you don’t hear anything, I like to make a little noise,” Labonge said.

Garcetti said he was open to starting talks with any team owner interested in Los Angeles, which lost the Rams and Raiders after the 1994 season.

“I’d love to have a team,” Garcetti said. “And I think it’s important for us to grow our ties to the NFL. They want to be here. But this really comes down to the individual decisions of team owners.”

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