This week brought another layer of oddity to pursuit of a Los Angeles-area football stadium. Say hello to terrorism.
According to a report issued under the auspices of the former head of the Department of Homeland Security, the proposed stadium site in Inglewood, Calif., is ground zero for an attack by nut jobs who hate the United States and all it represents.
Like . . . football.
Here's why: The site is so close to Los Angeles International Airport a wacko with a missile could shoot down a plane that would then crash into the venue during a National Football League game.
We're not dismissing the possibility of such an action. Something similar has been suggested in popular media, from the movie Black Sunday to the Tom Clancy novel The Sum of All Fears. Clancy produced the more plausible suggestion.
What is being questioned is this: The study was commissioned by a group which has Los Angeles stadium plans of its own. It pits the Inglewood idea against one that would see a venue built next to Staples Center, home of the NBA's Lakers and Clippers and the NHL's Kings.
Tom Ridge, the man behind the study, is remembered as the first secretary of Homeland Security. These days, he is a security consultant.
Ridge, according to the reports, says the Inglewood scenario would be a "terrorist event 'twofer.'"
Yeah, it would. But is such an attack any more likely than, say, an extremist bringing down a plane that crashes into MetLife Stadium, home of the New York NFL teams, or Cowboys Stadium?
Probably not, although making an attack on Los Angeles would be a coastal counterpoint to 9/11 and New York. The San Francisco 49ers home field is similarly in the path of airline departures. There are plenty of other sports facilities that could be bull's-eyes.
Taking note of the report, the Los Angeles Times noted Ridge's comments and pointed out the study was paid for by the Anschutz Entertainment Group. That firm backs an NFL stadium built in downtown L.A.
Consider this paragraphy from the Times' story:
In contrast to Ridge's warnings, city officials as well as aviation experts have said a stadium at the Hollywood Park site is not a safety concern. The Federal Aviation Administration, in environmental impact reports, has twice given its blessing to proposed stadiums in Inglewood.
Inglewood is where the former Hollywood Park racetrack is located. The site is owned by Stan Kroenke, who also owns the St. Louis Rams, who are living year-to-year in Missouri and seen as likely to be returning to Los Angeles once Kroenke gets his stadium built.
For the time being, there is no NFL team in Los Angeles. The Rams left 20 years ago, about the same time the Raiders returned to Oakland. Recent proposals include building a venue in suburban Carson, Calif., in which the Raiders would play and share with the Chargers, if that team decides to move from San Diego.
The Raiders remain popular in L.A. and are fighting over stadium matters in Oakland. The Chargers continue a protracted snit with San Diego over a state-of-the-art venue. The site the teams might share would be in the L.A. suburb of Carson.
According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, it's all smoke and mirrors.
But forget that. It is widely assumed Kroenke will bring the team he owns to the location he owns. Which brings us back to the scare tactic of the Inglewood report. AEG comes off looking like a whiny brat, even if Ridge's report has validation, no matter how scant.
Inglewood officials last week gave Kroekne their blessing to build at the Hollywood Park site. By year's end, dirt will be flying to make way for a complex that includes shops, businesses, offices and, yes, a football stadium.
AEG has an accord with Los Angeles for what it calls Farmers Field, but that expires in April, according to the Times.
Ridge's report reads like the last gasp of a dying proposal.
The NFL's take?
"We feel that the best approach is to look at these things with an independent eye," Eric Grubman, NFL senior vice president and the league's point man on the LA market, told The Times. "You should assume the NFL has its own experts hired and at work to assess any potential NFL site, in any city, regarding these matters. And it is that advice that we will rely on."
The Orange County Register, another major publication in greater Los Angeles, asked Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts Jr. about terrorism concerns last month.
"So you mean like people flying planes into structures? So what you're saying is that it would make that big of difference if say it was downtown and a plane at 600 mph had to fly another 30 seconds, they wouldn't go and do it there but they would do it if they were coming inbound to LAX?" Butts said. "That's ludicrous. I worked counter-terrorism at LAX for five years and that's an absurdity."
Do not think for a second a crackpot hasn't thought of this repulsive act. We never expected 9/11 either.
But in terms of the Ridge report, consider the source.