Sports guru gets back in the game.

• Author: Richter, Chris
• Position: PEOPLE

Max Muhleman and Arnold Schwarzenegger see eye to eye on one thing: There's room for two National Football League teams in the Los Angeles market. California's governor announced after a May meeting with NFL owners that he didn't want to settle for one team.

It's logical, Muhleman says. Los Angeles is the nation's second-largest city, with nearly 4 million residents; neighboring Orange County has about 3 million. The region has not had an NFL team since 1994, when the Rams moved to St. Louis and the Raiders to Oakland, Calif.

Landing a team for Los Angeles is a top priority for Muhleman's new sports-marketing company, which is working for the NFL. Private Sports Consulting's specialties are franchises, venues and brands, as well as motor sports. Muhleman wants to open an office in New York and expand the Charlotte company's presence in Los Angeles, where he has two employees.

Muhleman, 69, is a giant in sports marketing. He is best known for pioneering the permanent seat license, a financing tool that has enabled professional teams to build stadiums when municipal funds aren't available. Purchasing a PSL gives a fan the right to buy specific seats in perpetuity. The Carolina Panthers sold PSLs to help pay for Bank of America Stadium. PSLs have raised more than $1 billion for Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., Busch Stadium in St. Louis and various NFL stadiums.

In 1999, Muhleman sold his business to IMG, a Cleveland-based marketing and management company that became IMG/Muhleman...