NFL coming to Los Angeles ? (1 Viewer)

[Sarnoff]

Anyone still tossing around the idea of sending the Dodgers to the new downtown stadium, and putting the NFL in Chavez Ravine?

 

[RhymesMcJuice]

A proposal to build an NFL stadium in downtown Los Angeles could be jeopardized if state lawmakers fail in the next two weeks to approve special legislation limiting legal challenges to the project, the developers warned Thursday.

"If we don't succeed in getting something this session, that will be a significant blow to the project, and we would have to reevaluate the path forward from here," said Ted Fikre, chief legal and development officer for Anschutz Entertainment Group.

Fikre said it will cost up to $50 million to complete design and environmental work needed to move the $1.2-billion project forward in the coming months, and legislation defining the process for resolving legal challenges will be essential.

The developers are afraid that without protections, competitors for building a stadium in Southern California could file a frivolous lawsuit to delay the project by years, and the NFL might balk at approving a team for the stadium.

"Without that [legislation], there are question marks about whether it is prudent enough for us to be making an investment of another $50 million and waiting to see if we can succeed in getting that next year," Fikre said.

The AEG executive for the first time outlined a possible legislative solution: Any legal challenge to the stadium project on environmental grounds would have to be resolved in three months, either through binding arbitration or a limited court review.

He said AEG's preference would be that no appeal be allowed after the initial decision by the courts or arbitrator, but talks with lawmakers may result in a limited appeal process after an initial ruling.

The 72,000-seat stadium has been proposed by the firm owned by Denver billionaire Philip Anschutz, and his executives are in daily talks with legislators about getting a measure introduced and passed before the Sept. 9 deadline for action on bills. To create room for the stadium, city bonds would first finance a roughly $300-million reconstruction of one wing of the adjacent Los Angeles Convention Center.



The idea of custom legislation requiring binding arbitration for one billionaire's project drew opposition from David Pettit, senior attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council.

"Our view is we have a legal system for everybody in California," Pettit said. "Just because you are a rich stadium developer, you don't get your own legal system."

The group might be open to a bill that puts time limits on lawsuits in the court system, but he said a three-month limit is "unrealistic," given that the environmental study on the project is likely to be 10,000 pages.

Pettit downplayed the comments that the Legislature has to act fast or see the project jeopardized.

"That's more bluff than anything else," Pettit said.

The proposal was anticipated by state lawmakers who have already begun a review of the options.

On Friday, the Senate Select Committee on Sports and Entertainment will hold a public hearing in Los Angeles to examine whether legislation is warranted to protect the stadium project from environmental challenges.

At the same time, Assembly Speaker John Pérez (D-Los Angeles) has appointed five members of the lower house, including L.A. Democrats Bob Blumenfield and Mike Feuer, to review alternatives.

The request to grant the L.A. stadium project special treatment has some lawmakers struggling between the desire to protect the state's environmental laws and the need to create more jobs for California's sagging economy.

Stadium supporters, including Robbie Hunter of the Los Angeles/Orange Counties Building & Construction Trades Council, are pitching state lawmakers on the promise that the stadium project will provide more than 10,000 new jobs.

Blumenfield and Feuer have not yet committed to any legislative proposal and would not talk about specific ideas Thursday. But both say generally a balancing act is required.

"I'm looking at this project closely because we have a shot at bringing football back to Los Angeles, revitalizing economic expansion in the city, and creating a lot of good jobs," Blumenfield said. "But we should not cast aside our laws protecting the environment."

Blumenfield was among a minority of lawmakers who did not support a 2009 bill to give a football stadium proposed in the City of Industry an exemption from environmental laws.

"I don't want to see a repeat of last session when our environmental laws were weakened as a last-minute stadium bill rushed through the Legislature," said Blumenfield, who abstained in 2009.

Feuer voted against the City of Industry bill, which was pushed by developer Ed Roski Jr. for a stadium seen as a rival to the one planned in L.A. In reviewing the latest proposals, Feuer said he wants to help create jobs while "strongly protecting California's environmental laws."

AEG officials have promised to conduct a full environmental review, but they originally said they wanted an exemption from environmental laws similar to that granted Roski. Pérez and other leaders signaled early that was not likely to happen.

Sen. Kevin De Leon voted in favor of the 2009 environmental waiver. On Friday, he is chairing the Senate Select Committee hearing, which begins at 10 a.m. at the Ronald Reagan State Building auditorium. The hearing will include an examination of "land use and environmental concerns."

De Leon said he may introduce legislation on the stadium project based on what he hears.

"With only a couple weeks left in session, it is critical we best understand all the community impacts of this proposed stadium in anticipation of any action that may be taken," the senator said.

Keep up the good work protecting all of the beautiful nature in downtown LA, Dave.

 

[RhymesMcJuice]

The LA Jaguars has a nice ring to it.

This, I think the Jags are the ones who are moving.

The Jags are locked into a lease for quite a while and it would be TREMENDOUSLY cost prohibitive in financial penalties to get out of it. So I'm told by folks who know.

The buyout is expected to be in the range of $60 to $100 million, which translates to about $3-5 million per year through the life of the lease (19 more years).Also, the Jaguars can break the lease without penalty if they can show that they've lost money for 3 consecutive years. That doesn't seem likely to happen but you never know.

I'd imagine that being in LA would be at least $5M a year more profitable than Jacksonville.

 

[RhymesMcJuice]

AEG's bid to bring NFL to L.A. reaches the next level

T.J. SIMERS

With city support already in hand, AEG point man Tim Leiweke gets state approval to streamline environmental-impact process, a key development that could pave way for a team's arrival by next season.

Now the Anschutz Empire's point man, Tim Leiweke, goes shopping for an NFL team.

And your money, with luxury suites to go on sale soon.

Having already received unanimous city support, Leiweke on Friday completed an amazing week in Sacramento, winning state legislators' approval to speed up the environmental-impact process in building a new convention hall and downtown football stadium.

"Everyone knows now we have the ability to build this stadium and now it can only be delayed six months," Leiweke said. "I think the NFL is pleased and pleasantly surprised. Our state has had the reputation of not getting things done, but it's a credit to a number of people that they thought this important to get done."



If Leiweke's plan stays on track, and so far it's proceeding at warp speed, L.A. will have an NFL team here in time to play next season, with a the new Farmers Field stadium opening in 2016.

That's a mouthful, all right, especially after 17 years of toy models and as many starts and stops with millionaires and billionaires failing to get the job done.

"We now have complete predictability," Leiweke said. "It's no longer a question of getting it done; we can get it done. And now it's very evident to the NFL and its owners."

Ed Roski also has a stadium proposal in the City of Industry, a plan ready to go and no takers so far. His plan differs from AEG's in one major way.

Roski is inviting an NFL team here but with the moving owner paying for the stadium to be built. NFL owners are not big on spending their own money.

"A lot of owners understand there's only one place in the United States where one guy has stepped up and offered to pay $1 billion for a new stadium," Leiweke said. "They don't have to write a check."

Leiweke said AEG will not negotiate a long-term lease or place a team in the position of providing notification of an impending move until after the Super Bowl.

So relax, San Diego, you don't have to worry about anything other than Coach Norv Turner until Feb. 6.

Leiweke said, "It does depend on which team we bring to L.A.," which rules out the Raiders. Luxury suites are undoubtedly too pricey for thugs.

"So much can go on with these teams in the next few months," Leiweke said in declining to name any targets.

Leiweke said from the outset he needed to answer a number of questions before Phil Anschutz signed off on the deal.

"Phil's impressed," Leiweke said after Friday's developments, indicating Anschutz is now all in. "I know he thinks this will be interesting in these economic times, but he looks at the world as more of a marathon than a sprint."

Leiweke said AEG will begin selling suites with the understanding an agreement must be reached with a team to move here. He said AEG will also start lining up founding partners — Staples Center was built with the help of 10 such partners.

"We're already way ahead of the game with Farmers [insurance] as our naming rights partner," he said. "That's already made an impression on NFL owners."



If successful in his sales efforts, Leiweke said, he will be able to show any owner interested in moving here that he will immediately become one of the top five money-making owners in the league.

Anyone who knows anything about NFL owners knows money talks louder than anything else said.

When John Shaw convinced Georgia Frontiere it was time to move the Rams to St. Louis, all he had to do was show her she would turn a $25-million profit each year as opposed to flirting with a loss.

Leiweke said he will meet very soon with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. He said he will follow Goodell's lead, and while that suggests he'll be the good soldier, seeing is believing, knowing how he likes to charge ahead no matter what the roadblock.

"A lot of folks dragged us through the mud in saying we would never get this far," Leiweke said. "They were wrong."

As Leiweke makes his way through the league, talking to teams such as Buffalo, Minnesota, San Diego, San Francisco and Jacksonville about their present situations, AEG will continue work on its environmental impact report application.

"We will submit our EIR draft in January, hopefully have it approved in May by the city, and then be in position to push dirt on June 1," Leiweke said. "We can't do that until we have a long-term lease with a team moving here and until the EIR gets city approval.

"We know now because of the work of so many people at the state level, if anyone has a problem with the EIR the problem will be addressed in a maximum of 175 days. If that delays stadium construction, I accept that now."

Leiweke said any lawsuit challenging the EIR "is not a stadium killer. It's only a delay. The important thing here is that the NFL would not have touched this project if we didn't get this done."

He said EIR delays, which could push back the opening of the stadium to 2017, should not affect a team's moving here next season other than to keep it playing in a temporary stadium one year longer.

Leiweke said he now has reason to believe, after some discussion, that a deal can still be struck with USC to use the Coliseum as a temporary home for an NFL team.

My hunch: A second team moves into the downtown stadium, but it is USC and not another NFL team.

"We see the finish line," Leiweke said. "We're prepared to run for a while, but we prefer not to be running for two years. We're working right now to get it done for next year."

Tomorrow, a look at the Chargers and their goofy owners, and whether they will be moving here.