L.A. approves plan for downtown NFL stadium
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northside7
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LOS ANGELES -- Stadium developers cleared the final political hurdle to bringing the NFL back to Los Angeles on Friday when the city council unanimously approved plans to build a $1.5 billion football stadium downtown.
The next step before construction can begin, potentially next spring, is to convince an NFL team -- or maybe two -- to move.
“ We're not trying to steal a franchise and we're not trying to force them to move before they make a decision to move. That's up to the individual owners out there today. But we will be very active in letting them know, despite what a lot of people thought, we have a deal with the city, we've gone through this process and we are shovel-ready.
The city council's approval, which was widely anticipated, came in a packed council chambers at city hall. Among those in attendance were Los Angeles Lakers Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, ex-USC quarterback Rodney Peete, two local high school football teams, a large contingent of Rams fans and dozens of union workers.
But the most notable member of the audience was billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong, who is expected to make a strong bid to purchase AEG. The impending sale of the company had emerged as a potential stumbling block to the stadium proposal, but Leiweke said it was not a coincidence that Soon-Shiong attended Friday's vote, which went 12-0 in AEG's favor.
"He has made it very clear to everyone he's interested in AEG and he's interested in the NFL," Leiweke said. "When I talk about the kind of people we are talking to now, who will buy this company from Philip Anschutz, I am extremely confident that everyone is going to feel very good about the kind of ownership group we're going to put together."
With the deal approved, there is now a 30-day window for legal challenges, which must be resolved within 175 days, under legislation passed in Sacramento last year with this project in mind. If everything goes according to plan, builders could break ground on Farmers Field by March 2013.
Friday's news was another blow to a competing stadium plan proposed by real estate magnate Ed Roski in the City of Industry.
If NFL owners approve a team's move to Los Angeles next spring, the city will issue bonds to pay for a projected $314 million convention center building next door to the stadium. Those bonds eventually would be repaid by AEG.
It could take about four years for the stadium and adjoining convention center to be finished, but an NFL team could move to Los Angeles before then and play in one of the existing stadiums in the city.
"This project means we are one step closer to building an NFL stadium and bringing one or two teams to Los Angeles," Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said. "Moreover, a modernized convention center means that we will become one of the nation's top-5 convention and meeting destinations, which means thousands of new jobs for L.A. It will create a world-class public space in Gilbert Lindsay Plaza and will provide significant upgrades in our streetscape and public transit system.
"L.A. Live already has created 6,000 jobs since its opening, and Staples Center has four million visitors annually. This is truly a game-changer for Los Angeles."
Leiweke signed a five-year extension with AEG last week, sources told ESPNLosAngeles.com's Arash Markazi, and Leiweke said he intends to be with the company until Farmers Field is built.
Anschutz, 71, has thought about selling his business since the Los Angeles Kings won the Stanley Cup in June.
AEG owns the Kings, reigning MLS Cup champion Los Angeles Galaxy and a 30 percent stake in the Lakers. AEG also owns and operates the Staples Center (home to the Kings, Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers and Los Angeles Sparks) and the Home Depot Center (home to the Galaxy and Chivas USA of MLS).
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell sent a memo to all 32 teams in July stating that any franchise interested in relocating for the 2013 season must apply between Jan. 1 and Feb. 15 of that year. A franchise also must prove it has exhausted all attempts to remain in its current location.
The sale of AEG, estimated to fetch $6 billion to $8 billion, would have to be completed before the company could attempt to buy a share of an NFL team. That makes it more likely the process of relocation would begin in early 2014, with Farmers Field opening in 2018. A team could play at the L.A. Coliseum or the Rose Bowl in the interim.
Casey Wasserman, founder and CEO of Wasserman Media Group and partnering with AEG on the Farmers Field project, commended the unanimous vote.
"Today, the Los Angeles City Council and my friends at AEG, led by Tim Leiweke, brought us one step closer to seeing an NFL team in Los Angeles," he said. "I applaud Mayor Villaraigosa, whose fortitude shaped this idea from my initial napkin concept into a statewide effort to bring football to the second largest market in the country."
City councilwoman Jan Perry, one of the driving forces behind Friday's vote, called it, "The day we bring football back to L.A.," and "a giant step forward for the city."
Opponents include the Play Fair at Farmers Field Coalition, which spoke out against the project before the vote and has sued the State of California over a law that allowed AEG to expedite an environmental impact report.
There was little mystery about which way the vote would go. Council member Richard Alarcon brought a football with him to Friday's meeting.
"We make a statement to the NFL and to Roger Goodell that L.A. is now open to business," Leiweke said.
LA Jaguars or Rams, or two new franchises?
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L.A. jaguars on tha way.
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L.A. jets
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R.I.P 405 traffic. Smh. Hopefully I'll be back in the A by the time they build it...
*Remembers ATL is building a new one too.
? my life. -
greenwood1921 wrote: »R.I.P 405 traffic. Smh. Hopefully I'll be back in the A by the time they build it...
*Remembers ATL is building a new one too.
? my life.
Arthur Blank footing any money for that stadium?
Why you say ? your life? -
R.I.P. 10,110,5,101,60 FRWYS they affected to
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Either Bring the Raiders back or shut the talks down.
LA wont adapt to a new team..
I like the Raiders in Oakland but I don't want LA to have a team that's not the Raiders -
Jags or Cardinals.
Why they say two teams? -
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Either Bring the Raiders back or shut the talks down.
LA wont adapt to a new team..
I like the Raiders in Oakland but I don't want LA to have a team that's not the Raiders
Al Davis is dead. -
northside7 wrote: »greenwood1921 wrote: »R.I.P 405 traffic. Smh. Hopefully I'll be back in the A by the time they build it...
*Remembers ATL is building a new one too.
? my life.
Arthur Blank footing any money for that stadium?
Why you say ? your life?
Traffic. I work near downtown in L.A., and if/when I move back to the A the company's offices are near downtown ATL too. I already spend a hour driving to work as it is (to go like 30 miles)
And nah, the city of Atlanta is building it with the Falcons. It will basically replace the Georgia Dome eventually like Phillips Arena did the Omni. -
Jaguars move to LA.. Bucs move to Orlando and fans of the two cities that lost teams support the new one in Orlando. Both fans can commute to Orlando while gaining fans in Orlando.
Fans of the Jags or Bucs may not like it but no where near enough people show up to those games to keep a team in winning, mediocre or losing seasons. -
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Lets go LA Jags
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greenwood1921 wrote: »northside7 wrote: »greenwood1921 wrote: »R.I.P 405 traffic. Smh. Hopefully I'll be back in the A by the time they build it...
*Remembers ATL is building a new one too.
? my life.
Arthur Blank footing any money for that stadium?
Why you say ? your life?
Traffic. I work near downtown in L.A., and if/when I move back to the A the company's offices are near downtown ATL too. I already spend a hour driving to work as it is (to go like 30 miles)
And nah, the city of Atlanta is building it with the Falcons. It will basically replace the Georgia Dome eventually like Phillips Arena did the Omni.
I understand now. Thats a long commute.
Infrastructure development and population growth in major cities isn't slowing down anytime soon. One way it's good is that it creates jobs. -
Am i the only one doesn't want LA to have another team? Plenty of cali teams either support those or hang on to kobe drying dead husk. Give other city chances with the Jags franchise.
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Am i the only one doesn't want LA to have another team? Plenty of cali teams either support those or hang on to kobe drying dead husk. Give other city chances with the Jags franchise.
No but you don't work for the city of Los Angeles or the NFL. From what I've read most people in the city want a franchise and Goodell already said that his and the NFL's priorities are to put a franchise in LA before any other city. -
Jags not leaving...they got a lease with the city and the stadium saying they cant move for at least 5 years...
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I hope they create a new name and uniform for this team.
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Am i the only one doesn't want LA to have another team? Plenty of cali teams either support those or hang on to kobe drying dead husk. Give other city chances with the Jags franchise.
LA has the 2nd largest media market in America, but no pro football team.
People from LA, who are fans of the Raiders, 49ers, or Chargers, or any other team...would be fans of the LA team
LA has multiple franchises in the 3 other major sports, but no football team.
Thats why theyre talking about bringing two teams, because we already have two teams in every other sport -
Outside of l.a. i cant think of any other state/city who's looking into getting a nfl team in their city.
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Two teams is over ? .There is no point in that like with the jets mets and clippers.Wgy is anyone even s clippers fan or jets fan when you have the lakers and giants?
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I could see either Raiders, Rams or even Chargers move. Remember reading somewhere that the chargers lease is coming up for renewal soon.
Jags, no. Then they might as well jump the shark and adjust every single division in the NFL.
Even the Bills will be a no (as the NFL could be looking to let the bills become the Toronto Raptors of the NFL). Bills lease is up after this season. And repairs on Ralph Wilson stadium would be a very expensive project
Doing a little thought. Would a second team in the mountain area work? Or is it way to small a market? -
dazerferfly wrote: »I could see either Raiders, Rams or even Chargers move. Remember reading somewhere that the chargers lease is coming up for renewal soon.
Jags, no. Then they might as well jump the shark and adjust every single division in the NFL.
Even the Bills will be a no (as the NFL could be looking to let the bills become the Toronto Raptors of the NFL). Bills lease is up after this season. And repairs on Ralph Wilson stadium would be a very expensive project
Doing a little thought. Would a second team in the mountain area work? Or is it way to small a market?
Bills should not leave Buffalo but I'd welcome them up here if they do. -
lol @ that fake jag fan trolling my post cause i approve the LA move
Real Jags fan support the team no matter where they move to lol -
LA could have had the franchise that became the Texans but they blew it, so tell them to ? off smh at trying to steal franchises away from their city and fans.
