By Maria Valdez Haubrich

There’s talk again of Los Angeles finally getting a professional football team. Incredibly, LA has not had an NFL presence since the Rams and Raiders skedaddled to St. Louis and Oakland, respectively, in the mid-90s. Now the Atlanta Falcons owner is being courted by Los Angeles to move his team to La La Land. What would that mean for local LA small businesses and the economy in general? And what about Atlanta’s economy? How many businesses will lose money because the team moved?

Consider the number people employed at a stadium when there’s a professional franchise in town, not to mention the surrounding businesses that are sure to profit from fans looking for a bite to eat, libations to imbibe and licensed ware to purchase. Small businesses could also run fan appreciation sales, hold contests to win game tickets – the possibilities are endless.

This might just be another dead-end in LA’s elusive search for an NFL team, but for local businesses it’s still a dream worth having.