That will be the first question asked by visitors to this site. Why "Los Angeles" Raiders? Currently they are the Oakland Raiders, but I see that changing very, very soon. The NFL has not had a Los Angeles presence since 1995. There's always been some question if the Raiders would return to LA (I don't know why Al ever left!), and everyone has discounted the possiblity for as long as I can remember. I do believe the Raiders (and the Rams) will return to SoCal, and most importantly for Raider fans, the death of longtime owner Al Davis makes this possible.
Al was most definitely NOT the most popular guy at owners meetings, and for good reason. Al bucked the ownership hierarchy for so long, and having once moved to LA, and suing the league successfully to maintain his position in LA, Al made a point of not being a team player. Where the owners were concerned.
Now Al is gone, and his son Mark is the owner. I can't believe Mark is much popular than his father, but Mark can revisit the prospects of moving to the Los Angeles market, much more readily than Al could. No way they'd let Al have LA again, but with Mark, it's possible.
Irwindale or downtown Los Angeles are the stadium options. The Irwindale site is ready for construction. The environmental impact studies are done, and the site owner, Ed Roski hasn't made the sort of demands for team ownership that Phillip Anshultz and the AEG people have made. AEG has been wildly successful with the Staples Center, and while they have the experience in running a major sports venue, the heavy team ownership demands they've made could be deal breakers.
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