Bid the NFL Goodbye, and Let’s Move On

Los Angeles’ boosters probably don’t realize it now, but the National Football League has done us a favor by pretty much deciding to award its next team to Houston, or to any city but Los Angeles. I know, some of the city’s movers-and-shakers are weeping about sky boxes that could have been. They’re acting like sports versions of Miss Havisham, angry at being spurned at the last minute, still dressed in wedding clothes falling apart from dry rot, next to a moldering wedding cake she won’t let anyone touch.

The city fathers should learn from Charles Dickens’ sorry character and get a life. Maybe they’ll return to their senses and realize that in many cities where franchises are lured, the economic revitalization has been minimal at best. Constituents who were assured that small businesses would thrive have watched, disappointed, as the small businesses--pretzel pushcarts and geegaw concessions--have indeed sprung up. But the real moneymakers, such as parking lots and shuttle services, major concessions and the like, went to much larger businessmen, guys who were already quite comfortable.

In many cities, stadiums are built in or close to minority communities, and those communities have benefited very little from the stadium presence--even as game-day traffic disrupts their lives. It’s not, after all, as if sports fans spend much time after the game in the neighborhoods they drive through. (New stadiums, recognizing this, have been built right next to the highways for a quick getaway back to the suburbs.)

So Gov. Gray Davis’ insistence that the NFL pay its own way, without the sweet deal it was seeking, makes perfect sense. Because in the end, those surveys that announce which of America’s cities offer the best standard of living look at the things that really count: strong public schools, a well-developed public transportation system, a viable network of cultural institutions, well-maintained public facilities and top-ranked hospitals, public and private. Professional sports franchises are down the list--which should tell you something.

So thanks, NFL, for passing on L.A.. Have a great life in Houston. If George W. can raise $35 million to run for president, maybe y’all can invite him to dinner and ask for a little spare change. As for us, maybe now our elected officials will consider themselves free to return to the real quality-of-life issues that will determine whether this is a livable city.