The folks at AEG have sold the naming rights to a stadium they haven’t built yet. On Tuesday, the stadium took a large step closer to being built.
Per the O.C. Register, via SportsBusiness Daily, the L.A. City Council approved a so-called “Memorandum of Understanding” with AEG for the construction of the $1.2 billion venue. Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times reports that the vote came in at 12-0 in favor of the measure.
“I commend the Los Angeles City Council for today’s unanimous vote,” entertainment and sports executive Casey Wasserman, who is working with AEG to get the stadium built, said in a statement released to PFT. “Their support of Farmer’s Field is another victory in our effort to bring professional football to Los Angeles, and further AEG’s commitment to enhancing the local economy. This is a long process, but today marks a step forward in reaching our larger goal.”
To illustrate how long the process could take, Councilman Eric Garcetti said, via the AP, “This is not the beginning of the end but perhaps the end of the beginning.”
Meanwhile, the folks who are backing an open-air stadium in the City of Industry issued a statement today (per SBD), singing the praises in self-serving fashion of their alternative project: “Our stadium proposal will generate more money, jobs and long-term success for the region and the NFL. We are more active than ever and are currently working with the league, owners and teams to bring a franchise back to Los Angeles.”
The City of Industry project is shovel-ready, thanks in part of a legislative exemption from certain environmental lawsuits that may not be available to AEG.
From the NFL’s perspective, the longer that two viable proposals are competing, the better the eventual deal that NFL will get.