Can L.A. Sustain Two Football Teams?

Jonathan Larsen is a principal and managing director at Avison Young.

LOS ANGELS—It is official. By the end of the year, Los Angeles will have two football teams. After decades sans an NFL team—and ardent pleads for one—both the Rams, formerly of Saint Louis, and the Chargers, formerly of San Diego, will call Los Angeles home. Last year, the real estate industry collectively rejoiced over the Rams’ move to Los Angeles. After all, The Hollywood Park development, which will house the team’s home stadium, is expected to spur major growth in the Inglewood market, along with leasing activity from ancillary real estate in everything from training facilities to retail. For the Chargers, however, the cheers are more muted.

“The overall concept [of two football teams] is great, but I do have some concerns in terms of the sustainability of two teams,” Jonathan Larsen, principal and managing director at Avison Young, tells GlobeSt.com. “The Rams came in strong and had a lot of fans and enthusiasm, but LA fans tend to be fair weathered. The Rams season started out strong with attendance, but as games were lost, there were a lot of empty seats toward the end of the season. The Chargers are coming in with a smaller fan base in LA, a dismal last season, and they are entering the market as the second NFL team.”