NFL May Put Los Angeles Partially in Game

In another indication that the NFL is serious about returning to Los Angeles, the league is considering staging a football and music event here Sept. 8 to coincide with its season opener between Oakland and New England at Foxboro, Mass.

The free event would be highlighted by a concert at the Hollywood & Highland complex, and would feature a tribute to Super Bowls. It would be the first major NFL event in L.A. since the Raiders and Rams left after the 1994 season.

NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy cautioned that the talks were preliminary but said L.A. “would serve as a dramatic backdrop to what could be a unique opportunity for both the NFL and the L.A. area.�

The L.A. event would be held in conjunction with simultaneous music-and-football events in Detroit and at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro. The concerts would thematically link the first Super Bowl, played at the L.A. Coliseum, with the 40th, which will be played in February at Ford Field in Detroit.

Content from the L.A. show would be included in the NFL’s one-hour prime-time special on ABC that precedes the Thursday night game in most of the country. The program is scheduled after the game on the West Coast.

“We’re excited about the prospect of having the NFL back in Los Angeles,� said Kathryn Schloessman, president of the L.A. Sports & Entertainment Commission. “I think Hollywood is a great place to host this international event.�

The NFL had considered an L.A. concert to kick off last season but scrapped the idea in February 2004 after Janet Jackson’s breast-baring at the Super Bowl.

The league opened the 2002 season in New York with a Times Square concert featuring Bon Jovi, Enrique Iglesias, Eve and Alicia Keys.

In 2003, it was Aerosmith, Britney Spears, Good Charlotte, Mary J. Blige and Aretha Franklin on the National Mall in Washington.

Last season was the first time the league staged simultaneous concerts, with Jessica Simpson in Jacksonville, and a Gillette Stadium event that included Elton John, Destiny’s Child, Lenny Kravitz and Toby Keith.