This is an artist s conception of Farmers Field, a downtown stadium that AEG officials hope will host an NFL team. (Dean Musgrove/Staff Photographer) (Dean Musgrove)
Did Los Angeles mount a potential winning drive to bring professional football back to the City of Angels only to stall inside the NFL Red Zone?Only if you believe a story posted Monday by Yahoo's Jason Cole in which two NFL sources essentially put AEG's downtown Farmers Field project on life support, claiming the numbers involved aren't suitable to the NFL.
In short, according to Cole's sources it's impossible for AEG (as the landlord) and the team (as the tenant) to make sufficient money.
The reality is nothing much has changed since last March when league sources expressed similar concerns about AEG's deal structure in a similar Cole story.
At the time, AEG president Tim Leiweke told me his company recognizes the NFL's misgivings, but he was confident the two sides would eventually hammer out a deal that made sense for everyone involved.
In other words, Leiweke fully understood AEG might have to make some adjustments to facilitate a deal and that his company had the flexibility to accommodate those tweaks.
What has changed since then?
Absolutely nothing.
How can it, with AEG head Phil Anschutz putting the company up for sale in September and the transaction still at least a month away from completion?
Until the new owner is in place, everything is in a holding pattern.
Including the NFL and Farmers Field.
AEG, incidentally, declined comment on the Yahoo story.
Not
that work isn't being done behind the scenes.In fact, a source with intimate knowledge of the process indicated Tuesday talk is ongoing between AEG and league officials, and as recently as last month a prominent owner was briefed about Farmers Field by the AEG team.
That meeting was described as positive by the source, who expressed surprise by Monday's Yahoo story.
In the meantime, various owners have made their way to downtown to check out the proposed site adjacent to Staples Center, with Patriots owner Robert Kraft taking a tour in February while in town to attend the Grammy Awards.
That doesn't seem like a league ready to walk away.
Truth is, it makes no sense for the NFL to pull the plug at this point, or to kill it off before sitting face to face with the new AEG leadership and hearing their plans.
After all, what Phil Anschutz wants might be far different than what prospective owners like billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong or Guggenheim Partners are seeking.
The NFL understands this, and with no immediate urgency to put a team in L.A., there is also no motivation to walk away from Farmers Field.
Especially when powerful owners like Kraft or the Cowboys' Jerry Jones - both longtime business partners of AEG - have expressed support for the privately funded project.
Jones told me in September that Los Angeles is as well positioned as ever to add an NFL franchise.
"I'm more optimistic now than I have been in the last 12 years, since I've been on this thing," Jones said. "I now see significant meat on the bones and significant people who can do things and are willing to do things. And it's clearly recognized what a great opportunity (Los Angeles) is for the league."
That followed the league-wide memo from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell in July laying out specific instructions for any team interested in relocating to Los Angeles, making it clear any move would be a cooperative effort between his office and the team.
Hardly the actions of a league prepared to pull the plug.
So why float another story expressing regurgitated misgivings?
My guess is it ties into the impending AEG sale.
Could be the NFL isn't keen on AEG using a not-yet agreed-upon NFL stadium deal to drive up the sale price.
While the league is intrigued by Farmers Field, nothing is official until it's official, so perhaps there is concern the NFL is being used to enhance the deal.
Maybe the NFL is wary Anschutz won't get an offer he likes and will ultimately sit tight. If so, the NFL will again sit face to face with him to hammer out a deal and is preemptively reminding him they remain lukewarm on his initial proposal.
I also wouldn't rule out one of the bidders for AEG putting a story like this out there to drive down the price.
When billions of dollars are exchanging hands, anything is possible.
What I do know is the NFL and AEG are world-class negotiating machines. The longer this drags on, similar stories will emerge as everyone jockeys for position.
It's just part of the process.
But as far as Farmers Field being dead in the eyes of the NFL?
Sorry, I'm just not buying it.
vincent.bonsignore@dailynews.com, @DailyNewsVinny
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