A new football stadium in downtown Los Angeles moved closer to reality after AEG issued a request for proposal, it was reported.
According to SportingNews, AEG is drawing on the experience of the Dallas Cowboys to build a new $725 million, retractable-roof stadium near the Staples Center:
The request for proposal for the Los Angeles Event Center, a copy of which was obtained by SportsBusiness Journal, puts to paper AEG’s push to bring the NFL back to Los Angeles after a prolonged absence. It is also the first of several critical steps AEG must complete in the next four to five years to deliver the project by its targeted opening date of Aug. 15, 2015.
“We spent a lot of time with Dallas,” Leiweke told SportingNews. “We have great respect for [the Joneses] and I think they have done a phenomenal job there”
Called the "event center," the venue would include up to 76,250 seats, 18 event skyboxes, 160 traditional suites, and 14,700 club seats. It would take advantage of nearby light rail, mass transit and convention center parking to accommodate the influx of guests, according to SportingNews.
Tim Leiweke told the Los Angeles Times that the project could be completed in time to host the 50th Super Bowl in February 2016.
The stadium could also house an NCAA football program such as USC but Leiweke told Sporting News finding an NFL franchise is top priority.
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Leiweke faces several hurdles including the requirement for an environment impact report and a competing stadium proposal from real estate magnet Ed Roski in the City of Industry.
