The agreement with Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), which plans to build a $1 billion downtown stadium in LA, was announced at a press conference in the city. The stadium would be located next to the AEG-owned Staples Center and would be named Farmers Field.
However, the AEG plan is not the only stadium proposal aimed at attracting an NFL team to Los Angeles for the first time since 1995, when the Raiders returned to Oakland and the Rams moved to St Louis. The competing plan, by Majestic Realty, is for an $800 million stadium in City of Industry, about 27 miles from AEG’s downtown site.
“This is about jobs and this is about revitalising the city centre,” said Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. “The idea that this city, the second-largest media market in the United States, does not have a football team boggles the mind. With this announcement today, it is clear – football is coming back to Los Angeles.”
Tim Leiweke, president and CEO of LA-based AEG Worldwide, added that the 65,000-seat stadium with a retractable roof would be built on the site of the western hall of the Los Angeles Convention Center, and would create 25,000 jobs.
