City Council green-lights stadium plan

The Los Angeles City Council unanimously approved Friday the plans to build a $1.2 billion NFL stadium in Downtown, in turn reaffirming the city’s desire to once again have a professional football team, according to the Los Angeles Times. If all goes as planned, Farmers Field would open in 2017.

The council approved the plan to go ahead with the project, as well as the piggybacked proposal of a $315 million upgrade of the nearby Convention Center.

Anschutz Entertainment Group, the developers of the nearby Staples Center, have been rejected in the past for approval with the NFL to have a team and are still struggling to make a deal.

Councilman Paul Koretz called the proposal “the economic development project of our generation” — not to mention its extreme importance politically and communally.

Additionally, AEG went up for sale last week. Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, an investor who has shown interest in buying AEG, was present at the council meeting.

Because of the potential transfer in power at AEG, city officials have declared the ability to block the deal if the company is sold to an investor who is unwilling to build a sports stadium.

Breaking ground on the project cannot take place until AEG has secured an NFL team. The specific plan for the stadium — which will determine other factors, such as its effect on Downtown traffic — will be hammered out at a later date.