LOS ANGELES -- The Anschutz Entertainment Group, the company behind Farmers Field, a proposed $1.5 billion football stadium and convention center expansion in downtown Los Angeles, is seeking a six-month extension to its existing agreement with the city of Los Angeles for the project.
In a letter sent to Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, Los Angeles City Council President Herb Wesson and Council Member Curren Price, AEG requested an extension to allow for additional time to pursue an NFL team and also to further assess and develop an alternative development plan for the expansion and modernization of the Convention Center and the potential construction of another large hotel at L.A Live.
The original transactions approved by the city in October 2012 for the Farmers Field project were scheduled to expire on October 18, 2014.
"We have resumed discussions with the NFL and, while much remains to be done before a deal could come together, we remain committed to this project," said Dan Beckerman, president and CEO of AEG. "In light of the positive tone of recent conversations, we feel it would be productive to continue this dialogue while at the same time further exploring alternative plans with the city."
While AEG has been pushing the Farmers Field project for four years, this six-month extension will likely be the final push for the stadium project before the plan is abandoned and another convention center expansion plan is adopted.
AEG's proposal submitted to the city on Monday includes a commitment to spend up to $600,000 over the next six months to commission designs for a proposed alternative plan for the convention center expansion and improvement, as well as the possibility of an additional 750-room hotel adjacent to L.A. Live and the Convention Center. In addition, AEG is offering to reimburse the city up to $150,000 to facilitate its review and consideration of such alternative plans.
"We share the city's vision for an improved convention center with additional hotel rooms nearby and we do not want to delay the pursuit of those objectives," Beckerman said. "Therefore, as part of our request for an extension, we are making some explicit additional commitments to advance development and consideration of alternatives."
Any NFL franchise interested in relocating for next season would have to apply between Jan. 1 and Feb. 15 of that year, according to league bylaws, and prove it has exhausted all attempts to remain in its current location. The earliest a team could relocate to Los Angeles would be January 2014 with Farmers Field opening in 2018, with the relocated team playing in either the Coliseum or the Rose Bowl in the interim.
The two teams that would be most likely to relocate to Los Angeles are the last two NFL teams to leave Los Angeles 20 years ago: the Oakland Raiders and St. Louis Rams.
The Raiders' lease to play at the O.co Coliseum, formerly known as the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, expires after this season. Meanwhile, the Rams can get out of their lease agreement with the St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission to play at the Edward Jones Dome after this season as well.
The third team in play for L.A., the San Diego Chargers, can announce their intention to leave San Diego between Feb. 1 and May 1 of each year through 2020 if they pay an early termination fee tied to the bonds used to expand Qualcomm Stadium in 1997.
The end of Farmers Field, however, wouldn't necessarily mean the end of the NFL's return to Los Angeles. It would just be the end of one of the many proposed stadium plans that have fallen by the wayside over the past 20 years.
Rams owner Stan Kroenke, by way of an affiliated holding company, purchased a 60-acre tract of land in Inglewood, California. earlier this year. The land is located between the recently renovated Forum and the Hollywood Park racetrack, which was shut down last year, and could potentially serve as the home of a future NFL stadium.
AEG owns the Los Angeles Kings, the Los Angeles Galaxy and a 30 percent stake in the Los Angeles Lakers. AEG also owns and operates the Staples Center, which is home to the Kings, Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers and Los Angeles Sparks, as well as the Home Depot Center, which is home to the Galaxy and Chivas USA of Major League Soccer.