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the-game expenses), and 34 percent to the visiting team. Skybox
revenues are not shared with other teams. A team can earn
millions of dollars from skyboxes.
3. Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission v. NFL
In early 1980, Al Davis (Davis), the general partner of the
Oakland Raiders ownership group, sought to move that team to Los
Angeles. The other 27 NFL owners opposed the Raiders' move.
In 1980, a suit entitled Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Commission (LAMCC) v. National Football League was pending in the
Federal District Court in Los Angeles. LAMCC filed that suit
when the Rams left the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to play in
Anaheim.
On March 25, 1980, Davis filed a $160 million antitrust suit
against the NFL and joined that suit to LAMCC v. NFL, supra. The
District Court set a jury trial to hear LAMCC's and the Raiders'
claims of antitrust violations by the NFL. The existence of the
litigation was disclosed in the financial statements of the
Cincinnati Bengals, Inc., for the fiscal year ending February 28,
1982, which described the suit and contained the following
statement:
In the opinion of management and legal counsel, the
damages alleged by this complaint against the NFL and
its member clubs are greatly overstated. The effect
of the final outcome of this litigation on Cincinnati
Bengals, Inc. is not determinable at present.
On May 7, 1982, the jury returned a liability verdict
against the NFL in LAMCC v. NFL. On June 14, 1982, the District
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