8/26/2011
A City Council endorsement was granted Tuesday to the developers who wish to build an NFL stadium in Los Angeles’ downtown area. The developers had been stressing that such endorsement was necessary to prove to the league officials that their plan has the support of the public.
Tim Leiweke, the president and chief executive of Anschutz Entertainment Group, said that the 12-0 vote of the council in favor of a framework deal on the funding and timeline of the project sends a strong message to the NFL that Los Angeles is supportive of the plans for a 72,000-seat NFL stadium to be built on the convention center campus of the city.
He said, “Today proved we have a vision (and) they’re behind it. We just got through the politics.”
Around $275 million in tax-exempt bonds is expected to be issued for the transfer of the convention center hall to have room for the planned $1.2 billion football stadium that will be called the Farmers Field. The project would require the AEG to provide a range of financial guarantees during the construction phase of the project to protect against unexpected shortfalls and other similar risks.
The council members in Los Angeles are scheduled to take up additional binding votes for the next nine months, with the new venue’s groundbreaking to be conducted as early as June.
Before the vote was taken, Councilman Eric Garceti for his part said, “This is not the beginning of the end but perhaps the end of the beginning.”
Casey Wasserman, an early collaborator with AEG on the project proposal and a sports management mogul, in a statement lauded the decision of the council.
