The Rams Give CRE a Boost

LOS ANGELES—Los Angeles is finally getting a football team. The Rams have announced that they will move to Los Angeles for the 2016/2017-football season, and will play at the Los Angeles Coliseum temporarily. Once complete, the Hollywood Park Stadium in Inglewood will serve as the team's home venue. To find out how this move will affect commercial real estate in the near and long term, we sat down with Steve Solomon, managing director at JLL, for an exclusive interview, Here, he tells GlobeSt.com that the Rams will certainly give a boost to the commercial real estate market.

GlobeSt.com: How are your clients and colleagues reacting to the news that the Rams are coming to Los Angeles?

Steve Solomon: In general, it has been fairly positive. A lot of my associates are into sports, and we think it is good for the city. If there was any team to come back, I am glad that they are coming back. I think it is going to be good for L.A. and good for the city of Inglewood.

GlobeSt.com: How will this move affect commercial real estate in the short term?

Solomon: I don't think there will be an immediate impact in the next six months. The team is moving here next year to play at the Coliseum, so they will be here in seven of eight months. In the past when people thought that we were going to get a team, it never happened. Now that it is happening and it is a done deal. That is the good news because a lot of real estate is what-if, and this is definitely happening. In Inglewood, it is going to be really good to see new construction and I think that will be really good for the area.

GlobeSt.com: How will this move affect the Inglewood market?

Solomon: For the South Bay and Inglewood, I think it is going to be a great thing. In the surrounding area, the commercial market is already doing very well. In the past, people used to think of Inglewood as slightly less desirable area, certainly over the past 13 years. You haven't seen a lot of demand there from a commercial perspective.  We have the 105 freeway, so getting in and out of the area will be great. I think in the midterm, the area will benefit from having the Rams and the stadium in the South Bay.

GlobeSt.com: Will this affect mainly the retail sector, or do you see the move affecting other product types as well?

Solomon: I think that this move will help all of the components. I think that what has been lacking in the Century Blvd. corridor is new hotels. I think that you will see a lot of the hotels around the airport be the first to get redone, because we do need some higher quality hotels. Normally when people come to town in L.A. and they are looking for a nice place to stay, they go to Beverly Hills or Newport Beach. With the football stadium coming, I think you will see more people looking for a nice place to stay around the airport, and there will be more demand for hotels. As a result of that, you will see more demand for retail.