Hollywood starts with an agent

Chapter 467 Sports Industry
Aaron leaned back in his chair, his fingers lightly tapping the table. "A practical solution? Probably not a problem."

"But what I need more now is for the league to provide me with guidelines for building a team!"

Paul Tagliabue shook his head. "It requires fair competition. It's not just Los Angeles that wants an NFL team right now."

"Houston and Cleveland are similar cities that previously had NFL teams;"

"Besides, the NFL already has 30 teams. Adding more teams would require a lot of discussion."

Aaron spoke up: "Didn't the MLB league also add two baseball teams, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and the Arizona Diamondbacks?"

"Moreover, these two teams will officially join the MLB league next year."

Paul Tagliabue smiled slightly, "I'm very much in favor of forming an NFL team in Los Angeles; after all, the market there is huge."

"Currently, the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers and the MLB's Los Angeles Dodgers have only mediocre performances. Forming an NFL team could help them compete in the market."

"However, the NFL is not something I can decide on my own; the committee needs to examine and evaluate it."

As he spoke, Paul Tagliabue picked up his glass of wine and took a sip. "And besides, you're not the only one hoping to build an NFL team in Los Angeles!"

“Oh,” Aaron said, now intrigued, “are there any others?”

"Yes, he's an old acquaintance of yours, former Disney president Michael Ovitz!"

"Pfft," Aaron couldn't help but laugh, "You mean Michael Ovitz?"

"Does he still have the ability to build an NFL team?"

Even if this guy gets $1.2 million in severance pay from Disney, plus the cash-out of CAA stock, it's still not enough.

Would anyone else support him? It's important to know that NFL clubs are not allowed to be owned by corporations; they can only be privately owned!

Paul Tagliab shrugged. "This Mr. Michael Ovitz did contact me earlier this year to express this idea."

"My reply to him was the same: the problem with the stadium needs to be solved first. He said he would seek assistance from the city government."

Aaron waved his hand dismissively. "The Los Angeles city government will definitely assist; they also hope Los Angeles can have its own NFL team."

"But the city government won't pay for it, otherwise the Rams and Raiders wouldn't have left."

The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum was damaged by the earthquake, and the city government did not have the funds to repair it.
The Los Angeles Raiders' previous home stadium was Memorial Stadium. What makes Michael Ovitz capable of persuading the city government to renovate Memorial Stadium?
Pasadena’s Rose Bowl stadium can indeed serve as a temporary stadium for the NFL, but it certainly won’t be allowed for long-term use by new NFL teams.

After all, there are just too many events at the Rose Bowl, and the Los Angeles Galaxy, one of the 10 founding teams of Major League Soccer (MLS) which was officially established last year, has already used the Rose Bowl as their home stadium.

The ten teams in the MLS Eastern Conference are Columbus Crew, D.C. League, New England Revolution, New York Metropolitan Stars, and Tampa Bay Rebels.
The Western Conference is represented by the Colorado Rapids, the Dallas Burn, the Kansas City Wizards, the Los Angeles Galaxy, and the San Jose Earthquakes!
Philip Anschutz played an indispensable role in the successful formation of MLS. As one of the founders, he was also the owner of the Los Angeles Galaxy and the Colorado Rapids.

He also funded the establishment of the San Jose Earthquake and Washington, D.C. Alliance, and nearly half of the 10 founding teams were related to him.

Initially, Philip Anschutz wanted Aaron Anderson to get involved, but was ruthlessly rejected. MLS wouldn't be able to make money for at least another 10 years!
Paul Taliab didn't make any promises to Aaron, but Aaron certainly had confidence; Los Angeles is the second largest metropolis in the United States.
Although the NBA has a long-established team like the Los Angeles Lakers, the NFL certainly wants teams to establish themselves in a market of this caliber. It's simply a matter of the stadium; Aaron has no shortage of money, he can just build a new dedicated NFL stadium.
In the future, the St. Louis Rams will never be able to return to Los Angeles!
That evening, Catherine Zeta-Jones nestled in Aaron's arms, "Darling, you're really into sports now!"

“Hmm, consider it an investment,” Aaron kissed the woman on the lips, feeling Catherine Zeta-Jones’s sexy body.

"By the way, I heard the Premier League is doing really well these days, right?"

"Yes, that's pretty good. Sky Sports spent £670 million this year to acquire the domestic broadcasting rights for the Premier League for four seasons."

"When the Premier League was first established, Sky Sports won the broadcasting rights for five seasons for £3.04 million through a fierce bidding war."

"Many people were skeptical of it, but now it's making a fortune!"

Catherine Zeta-Jones chuckled and pinched Aaron's arm. "What, you want to make it to the Premier League?"

Rupert Murdoch did indeed accelerate Sky Sports’ growth through the Premier League, and FOX Sports officially launched last year.

Fox's desire to compete with ESPN in the sports industry is quite obvious.

"What, is the Premier League now open to foreign ownership?"

Aaron knows the British quite well. Those opium dealers consider themselves civilized gentlemen who value tradition, and many Premier League clubs have a long history and don't have a good attitude towards foreign investment.

"It's difficult, isn't it? However, recently, Egyptian tycoon Mohamed Al-Fayez acquired Fulham, a third-tier club in the English Football League."

"You know, besides the Premier League, there are three other tiers of English football leagues!"

Moreover, Mohammed Al-Fayed is quite famous in Britain, and his son Dodi Al-Fayed is Princess Diana's current boyfriend.

Last year, the news of Dodi Fayed, Princess Diana, and Princes William and Harry vacationing together at the beach caused quite a stir!

Aaron was somewhat speechless. The third tier, in the current English football league, besides the Premier League, there are first, second, and third tiers of leagues;

These correspond to the future Championship, League One, and League Two, respectively. So, Fulham is currently a League Two club, three levels below the Premier League.

"The third tier of leagues, you have to be promoted three levels to get into the Premier League!"

Aaron shook his head. "Why can't we just buy a Premier League club?"

Catherine Zeta-Jones looked up. "Why don't you give it a try?"

Next week, Borussia Dortmund of the Bundesliga and Juventus of Serie A will face off in the Champions League final at the Munich Olympic Stadium in Germany.

"Should we go join the fun and take a trip to England while we're at it...?"

(End of this chapter)