PUBLIC: City promise comes after concerns from fomer councilman.
This image provided by AEG shows the proposed NFL stadium, to be named Farmers Field in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/AEG)
A city panel promised Thursday to make negotiations for a downtown Los Angeles football stadium more transparent as a former councilman raised concerns about closed-door giveaways of public land and money.
The Ad Hoc Committee on the Downtown Stadium and Entertainment Center pledged to hold several more public meetings as it negotiates with Anschutz Entertainment Group over its plan for a $1 billion complex.
The committee also said AEG will have to pay CSL Consulting $400,000, an increase from $250,000 to analyze the proposal as it relates to the relocation and rebuilding of a Convention Center hall.
During the committee meeting, former Councilman Nate Holden, who was involved in negotiations with AEG when Staples Center was built, raised concerns about behind-the- scenes talks for the stadium deal.
"If you go into closed-door discussions, the public will not have an opportunity to hear if you are giving away the city," Holden said. "This is public land and public money you are giving away."
Councilman Bill Rosendahl said the consultants will need to deal with public skepticism about the project.
"The No. 1 question I get from constituents is, will we be caught spending public money on this project," Rosendahl said.
Negotiations with AEG are on a fast track, with the company
saying it needs an agreement by July 31 in order to move ahead with its efforts to bring a professional football team to Los Angeles.But some members, including Councilwoman Jan Perry - who chairs the committee and in whose district the project will be built - said football is not their top priority.
Perry said she is more interested in the potential for upgrading the Convention Center at AEG's expense as well as expanding its exhibition facilities with the stadium's addition of 1 million square feet.
AEG has proposed tearing down the West Hall of the Convention Center and relocating it to Pico Boulevard to make space for a stadium with a retractable dome that could seat up to 76,000 people. It would also be configured so it could be used for conventions that need more space.
An architect for the new West Hall was announced this week, Populous, a Venice-based firm. AEG is paying the firm's costs.
Chief Legislative Analyst Gerry Miller said negotiations have been going on weekly and are at a point where he needs more direction.
Rosendahl, however, said he did not want the committee to go into a closed-door session to talk with Miller. Instead, Miller will meet individually with members to discuss the next step.
Perry repeated her priorities as adopted by the committee, including a requirement that AEG conduct a full environmental impact report and that no general fund money from the city be used in the project.
Source: http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_18384695?source=rss
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