The fact that billionaire Philip Anschutz is interested in selling AEG necessarily raises questions regarding AEG’s ongoing pursuit of an NFL stadium in downtown L.A.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the plans are expected to proceed.
That’s no surprise. After all, the next owner may want those plans to proceed. But let’s be realistic. If whoever ponies up the pennies to purchase AEG decides not to try to do business with a sports league that has amassed tremendous bargaining power -- and always uses it -- then the plans won’t proceed.
For those with AEG who want to finish what they started, the challenge will be to push forward aggressively, making the completion of the deal a foregone conclusion. The wildcard, then, becomes whether and to what extent Anschutz will tap the brakes on this specific aspect of his eventually-to-be-former sports empire.
Regardless, the news of a potential sale by Anschutz does nothing to make the construction of Farmers Field more likely.