Los Angeles City Council Approves Funding Plan for Football Stadium

by Jesse Scardina on Tue, Aug 9, 2011 at 9:32PM

It appears football in Los Angeles just got one step — or yard — closer.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the city approved the overall framework for financing the $1.2 billion project with a unanimous 12-0 vote. The agreement with stadium developer Anschutz Entertainment Group allows for the demolition and relocation of a section of L.A.'s Convention Center, which would make room to open up a 72,000-seat stadium just south of Staples Center. With the proposed name of Farmers Field, if all goes right construction is slated to be finished in 2016.

"Today, in moving this forward, we don't lose one bit of leverage. We don't lose one bit of control," council president Eric Garcetti told the L.A. Times. "The great suggestions that people make along the way, we can sit down and talk to folks about. But it is time to take the next brave step forward."

That next step is nine months of negotiations with AEG, as they've promised to pay for the construction of the stadium and two parking garages on their own dime.

City officials expect the construction to create 14,000 temporary construction jobs and 6,300 permanent jobs.

One cause for concern are the property owners around the proposed area of the stadium and how traffic and noise would affect the area.