CosmicBills Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 Tim Leiweke (Anschutz's number one guy at AEG) was on ESPN Radio here in LA (if anyone's interested, here's the link to their page where you can find the interview streaming) to talk about the downtown stadium. Tim answered a ton of questions and insists that by the end of 2012 AEG will be ready to "push dirt" on Farmer's Field. At that point the negotiation between AEG and the NFL will really begin, a negotiation he believes will end up working out in the end. He also touched on which teams are candidates to move but was quick to point that the NFL prohibits teams from talking about moving until after the 2012 season has been completed. Teams cannot file a move request until after the 2012 season. Tim said 2013 would be the earliest a team could move but was quick to admit that would be extremely quick. And even if a team did move in 2013 the stadium won't be ready for football until 2017. Here's the highlights of what he touched on: The Yahoo Report: -Said the article's contention that the deal with the NFL is dead is simply not true. Leiweke said negotiations with the league are ongoing and both sides are posturing. The NFL wants the best deal they can get (as Tim admits they should) and so does AEG. Tim in fact almost quoted Kelly's point when he pointed out that the numbers don't add up for ANY stadium builder unless they're given a portion of the team OR rely upon tax payer subsidies. And since Farmer's field is 100% privately funded, they need to generate equity in the team or teams that lease the stadium. -Tim feels that there is a deal to be made where they do own part of the team without ruining the profit margins of the majority owner or the league itself. He referenced AEG's Staple's Center deal where they are now 30% owners of the Lakers and Clippers. Both teams were one of only 3 NBA teams that showed a profit before the NBA lockout this past off season. -Tim also pointed out that Anschutz has never said he's not willing to buy an entire team, he is willing (and capable) to do that if needs be. Will the NFL Last in LA?: -According to the proposal, AEG will not be allowed to start construction on the stadium unless they have a lease that covers the total amount of the bonds on both the stadium and convention center. Meaning, there's no stadium unless a team is willing to commit to a 20 year lease -- something he once again feels will not be an issue. Which Team or Teams will Move?: -Again, he said he can't talk about it and no one in the NFL can even consider it until after 2012. But he said it doesn't take much for fans to figure out which team's leases are up in 2012 to see who the likely targets are. The Environmental Impact Report: -This still hasn't been published but it's 10,000 pages long and cost over 27 million dollars to produce. Tim used this to make the point to refute the Yahoo article specifically by saying that no one would spend 27 million dollars on an Environmental Report if the project is already dead or has no chance to happen. -He further stated that AEG has never announced plans to build something that they never actually wound up building. They have more success than any other company in regards to building stadiums and while they feel LA is their biggest dream yet, it's closer than ever to being a reality. When the subject turned to which teams would move, there were no answers. He flat out said any talk of any team coming to LA is tabled until the end of the 2012 season. March, 2013 will be the league meeting that will decide which teams can move. Which teams can move at the end of 2012? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heitz Posted April 6, 2012 Share Posted April 6, 2012 Not sure if anyone saw this, but a 10,000 page $27 million dollar impact study on the downtown LA stadium was released yesterday. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-stadium-eir-20120406,0,710475.story The AEG group seems to think that nearly 20% of game attendees would take public transport to the games (27% on weekday games). Even with the proposed public transport improvements and the education and incentives that still seems really high for a city that loves it's cars. NPR yesterday cited a study that shows only 3% - 5% take public transportation to Lakers games! I've been to enough events down at Staples to know that the confluence of the 10 and 110 is always a mess during event time. And just look at the HOV lanes on any LA area highway and you'll get an idea of how much people like car pool. Not to mention that PSLs and ticket prices in LA will probably be outrageous - I can just see a studio head rolling to the game on the subway Regardless, it's an interesting fight to watch... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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