Inglewood unanimously approves stadium plan at Hollywood Park

Posted by Curtis Crabtree on February 25, 2015, 2:29 AM EST
AP

The push to bring NFL football back to Los Angeles took another step forward on Tuesday night.

According to Nathan Fenno of the Los Angeles Times, the Inglewood City Council unanimously voted to approve the stadium project at Hollywood Park bring championed by St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke.

The vote allows officials to avoid putting the project to a vote and skips potentially lengthy environmental reviews. Kroenke has been behind the efforts to build the $2 billion stadium on the former site of the Hollywood Park horse racking track.

With Carson, Calif. also in the running to develop a stadium to house the Chargers and Raiders if those teams can’t get new stadiums in their respective markets, the options for the NFL to return to Los Angeles are more real than ever.

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56 responses to “Inglewood unanimously approves stadium plan at Hollywood Park”

  1. With Carson, Calif. also in the running to develop a stadium to house the Chargers and Raiders if those teams can’t get new stadiums in their respective markets, the options for the NFL to return to Los Angeles are more real than ever.
    _____________________________

    Well, one option is….the Carson proposal’s a joke. Rams are headed to LA.

    And cue the “thumbs-down”. Whatever.

  3. “The vote allows officials to avoid putting the project to a vote and skips potentially lengthy environmental reviews.”

    As if we needed any more proof this country is run by corporations.

  4. Sorry, St. Louis. At least you have the Cardinals. And… Whatever the hell else you have in St. Louis.

  5. And ten years from now we’ll all wonder who will move there next when this team leaves again.

    What is that definition of insanity again???

  8. Welp, it sure does look like the Rams are returning to L.A.

    I figure San Diego will finally get a new stadium deal and the Raiders should just share the 49ers new stadium.

  10. And an article yesterday suggested that Dean Spanos has better political connections, therefor has the inside track to getting to LA first.
    Do some research next time……LMAO

    Mr. Kroenke has been plotting this for awhile, with some other California heavy hitters also onboard. To think he doesn’t have full participation from political powers is foolish.
    Dean Spanos and Mark Davis know they are at a serious disadvantage to Kroenke and they hatched a pathetic stadium plan to challenge him.

    Has anyone closely looked at their plan?
    IT WILL NOT WORK
    The site will need at least 4 years to get thru environmental hurdles. Then infrastructure issues remain, not to mention potential legal attacks.
    Kroenke will have his stadium built, the Rams playing on Monday Night Football christening the new digs.While Dean Spanos is still trying to get San Diego to throw him a bone and Mark Davis and the Raiders are sitting in the Coliseum, up to their knees in sewage while telling the media they MAY move to San Antonio

  13. “…The vote allows officials to avoid putting the project to a vote and skips potentially lengthy environmental reviews…”

    ———————————————-

    Oh, good, that makes sense. LA is so crystal-pure that all those pesky environmental considerations are completely unnecessary. But it’s Inglewood, so the Beverly Hills and Brentwood types don’t care, anyway.

  14. Pretty slick–a unanimous vote voids the need for environmental studies?

    Sounds like a Koch brothers paradise.

  15. Every NFL fan should be offended at what the league is allowing the Rams to do to the fans of St. Louis. A blatant slap in the face.

  17. “The vote allows officials to avoid putting the project to a vote and skips potentially lengthy environmental reviews.”

    What a bunch of stand-up politicians.

    Pathetic.

  19. Chargers are staying put in San Diego.

    I would love to see the Rams back where they belong; in either L.A. or Orange County.

    The Raiders…? Who cares? Maybe London? Or just dissolve them altogether? Would anyone notice?

  21. This is an awesome development for the loyal Rams fans in California like myself, who have been waiting 20 years for their return. I hope this dream isn’t too good to be true.

  24. Looks like they got Johnny Mac to be their pitch man. I seriously wish he was in on it, I would love to see him publicly call Roger to accountability one good time. In his own office, with an NFL Films crew in tow. I can only dream.

  25. razzlejag says: Feb 25, 2015 7:12 AM

    Every NFL fan should be offended at what the league is allowing the Rams to do to the fans of St. Louis. A blatant slap in the face.

    ———————————————-

    I agree 100%. I’ve never been a fan of teams moving, primarily because the NFL model for this basically just allows owners to pocket a big chunk of money and get huge tax breaks from the new city (thus screwing over the taxpayers of the lucky new city), while more often than not the old city ends up getting a team from somewhere else:

    Colts to Indy
    Browns to B’more
    Cardinals to Arizona
    Rams to St. Louis
    Rams back to LA (?)
    Raiders – LAOakland

    Of course moving franchises goes way back before the modern era, the difference is that now it’s a big money (HUGE money) shell game.

    If the Rams move back to LA, most likely another team will move to St. Louis. Or an “expansion” team will move there. The NFL expands, but more often than not they’re just filling a void left by another team.

    We all know Goodell has his kippers all in a bunch for a team in London, and then Mexico City, and then Canada, and then…what, Asia? The NFL as a worldwide league is like some kind of sci-fi Rollerball fantasy. In practical terms it likely won’t work.

  26. Mark Cuban was right…the NFL is imploding before our very eyes…expanded playoffs, 18 game schedule, 3 teams vying to move (or blackmail their current cities) to a city that couldn’t support previous NFL teams, more London games, 3.5 hour games, concussion lawsuits, domestic violence crimes, one owner (at least) with drug problems…it’s all good, isn’t it RG the idiot…now that I wrote this, I think Roger makes RG3 look good in comparison…

  27. 2 freaking billion ?????

    That is out of control and totally insane. I sure hope there is zero public money in this. Talk about a rip off.

    Such a venue would never ever generate anywhere near its cost in local revenue by the time its life cycle is over and its torn down.

    NO WELFARE FOR GREEDY BILLIONAIRES !!!!

  29. It looks like the Rams are moving back to Los Angeles. The Raiders and Chargers don’t have to remain where they are. They could go to St. Louis or even Las Vegas. The Raiders problem is that they’ve been bad for a decade. If they get back on track, and they could if they draft like they did last year, then they should be fine. The bigger problem is the Chargers. They’ve been a decent team for years now and they still aren’t a big draw. Now imagine taking out the Los Angeles market from underneath their feet and they’ll struggle to maintain their fan base.

  30. It’s okay St. Louis fans, you still have the Cardinals, who are a much more relevant sports team than the Rams anyway. And you still have the chance of getting the Raiders to move there.

  31. I don’t buy it. I doubt that a vote of the Inglewood City Council does away with environmental issues since these things are mostly dealt with at the state level.

  33. “This is a democratic country, right down to the cities and towns, we should put this to a vote.”

    “Ooooorrrrr, I could just make sure you stay in the city council for the next, what, 30 years good enough for you?

    “Democracy? Hmmm… Well, we were voted it in, right? I guess that means we speak for the people, right? They don’t need to vote because in a way, they already did! Make it 35 and you’ve got your stadium.”

    “Deal”

  34. styx630 says:
    Feb 25, 2015 3:19 AM

    “The vote allows officials to avoid putting the project to a vote and skips potentially lengthy environmental reviews.”

    As if we needed any more proof this country is run by corporations.

    Yes! Isn’t that wonderful. Corporations whose bottom line is creating money, rather than corrupt politicians who only care about themselves. Give me corporations over politicians any day.

  36. Great to see some progress. The Rams belong in Los Angeles. NFC West now has no reason to travel East past Arizona to play Division games

  37. Well well well it appears that Kroenke CAN afford to build his own stadium without taxpayer money. Color me shocked. We were told over and over again by Goodell and all the other multi billionaire owners like Wilf, Blank, Irsay, Stephen Ross, Al and Mark Davis, especially the Spanos’, that they couldn’t possibly afford to build a lavish work palace and needed threaten/blackmail/extort the poor taxpayers to build their stadiums.

    Let this be a lesson to any right minded person who allows their politicians to “vote” to raise taxes at the expense of schools, libraries, firefighters, roads, police to build a palace for multibillionaires. (Hint, they can afford to build their own or get a friggin loan)

  38. Every NFL fan should be offended at what the league is allowing the Rams to do to the fans of St. Louis. A blatant slap in the face.

    Wrong. Anybody who hates the idea of corrupt politicians flushing tax dollars down the NFL toilet should be rooting hard for the Rams to return to LA.

    1. The Rams should never have left LA. Trading LA for St. Louis made zero sense from a market perspective. But Missouri’s outrageous politicians showed up at Georgia Frontierre’s house with a dump truck loaded with taxpayer money and gave it all to her with no strings attached. If the Rams leave St. Louis 20 years later, that’s a disincentive to other cities and states to pull that kind of crap in the future.

    2. Keeping the LA market open has been one of the league’s most effective tools for extorting taxpayer dollars from other cities. The Chargers and Raiders are particularly upset about the Rams move, because it will mean they have to pay for their own damn stadiums in SD and Oakland rather than scare the local politicians into giving them each a billion dollars.

    3. The Governor of Missouri is currently insisting that he has the power to borrow money without legislative or voter approval to build a new NFL stadium. This is blatantly unconstitutional, but the NFL is openly cheering him on. Keeping the Rams in St. Louis would only reward that kind of corruption.

    Of course, all of the above is why the NFL probably favors the ridiculous Chargers/Raiders scheme in Carson. But nobody other than a billionaire NFL team owner should share that opinion.

  39. Rams to LA.
    Chargers or Raiders to LA to share the Rams new stadium.
    Which ever gets left out in LA goes to St Louis with an outside shot of going to San Antonio.

  40. skiier4384 says: Feb 25, 2015 9:38 AM

    It looks like the Rams are moving back to Los Angeles. The Raiders and Chargers don’t have to remain where they are. They could go to St. Louis or even Las Vegas. The Raiders problem is that they’ve been bad for a decade. If they get back on track, and they could if they draft like they did last year, then they should be fine. The bigger problem is the Chargers. They’ve been a decent team for years now and they still aren’t a big draw. Now imagine taking out the Los Angeles market from underneath their feet and they’ll struggle to maintain their fan base.
    __________________________________
    Part of the Chargers problem is that the L.A. fanbase never really fully embraced them to begin with. On top of that, their hometown is a big beach area with a different mindset and a whole lot of other options for how to spend your Sunday. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure there are a lot of die hard Chargers fans in the area. I just think that a lower percentage of the population is as motivated as people in other areas to go out and watch games. I can’t really blame them, when one of the other major options is chilling out on the beach and enjoying the sun and surf…as well as the lovely ladies in bikinis.

  41. How can you build a stadium that is in the flight path to LAX. Hollywood parks grandstand was in a direct line with LAX and I’m pretty sure that a football stadium is going to be alot higher up.
    I don’t think that I would want to be in the top row watching a jet come at me.

  42. I’m glad the Rams could be moving back to LA. I’ve had season tickets in St. Louis since they moved here. In that time I saw maybe 3 good years of football. For the most part, the Rams have been a joke. I’m giving up my 50 yard line seats this year so I don’t have to put money into Kronke’s pocket. I’ll save the money and buy a new 65″ HD TV and watch football teams that know how to play and win. Good luck LA, enjoy the NFL at it’s worst.

  43. Nobody wants to go to inglewood…

    all the bums and crooks on century and manchester are salivating now. more cars to break into. more cars to panhandle to. wouldn’t be surprising to find out that auto glass companies are behind this move.

  44. St. Louis fans love the Chiefs anyway.

    There are way more Raiders stickers on cars in LA/IE. There is still a huge Rams base here also. We all grew up with the Rams. For a lot of us, our fathers were Rams fans and they are the first experience we had with the NFL.

    We are predisposed to hate the Chargers. They should stay in SD.

    Welcome back Rams! The witch is dead! All is forgiven!

  45. mctyboy35 says:
    Feb 25, 2015 8:54 AM
    This is an awesome development for the loyal Rams fans in California like myself, who have been waiting 20 years for their return. I hope this dream isn’t too good to be true.
    ======================================
    Good luck to Rams fans and former Rams fans in LA. While it would suck for St Louis fans, the Rams were in LA for 50 years. I doubt that Carroll Rosenbloom ever dreamed that his widow would move them out of LA (first to Anaheim and then to St Louis). I hope St Louis gets another team. The Rams should return to LA.

  46. Looks like the Rams are going home. This will be strike two for St Louis. I was about to say that you’ve got to wonder if there will be a strike three, then I realized that’s the count in LA. . . . .

  47. How can you build a stadium that is in the flight path to LAX. Hollywood parks grandstand was in a direct line with LAX and I’m pretty sure that a football stadium is going to be alot higher up.

    The developers plan to sink the Inglewood stadium pretty deep into the ground, so its highest point will avoid aviation and regulatory issues.

  48. Can San Diego please get a new stadium so the Charges stay there and they can finally host the Super Bowl again? It’s a joke that cities like Detroit, Indianapolis, Minneapolis, Dallas and Houston can host, but San Diego can’t. I don’t know about you, but I would much rather spend 3 or 4 days in San Diego in late January/early February than any of the the other cities I mentioned.

  49. So now Stan is building a 2 billion dollar stadium? Last week it was one billion, that’s weird. Google “new football stadium in Inglewood” and see how many illustrations of this stadium they’re supposedly breaking ground on this year. Then Google ” new football stadium in Saint Louis”. Notice any difference?

  50. Stan the Man, will be using his own financial resources along with investors. The only assistance he wants will be tax exemptions from the state and community.

    This stadium will be for the Los Angeles Rams and either the Raiders or the Chargers. My guess is the Raiders. By owning every facet from gameday to the offseason, Stan will get revenue from tickets, seat licenses, premium seating, boxes, parking, food and beverage sales, naming rights, concerts, special events, and the list goes on and on. The man is not dumb. His return on investment could be relatively quick, so he doesn’t need public assistance.

  51. “Good luck to Rams fans and former Rams fans in LA. While it would suck for St Louis fans, the Rams were in LA for 50 years. I doubt that Carroll Rosenbloom ever dreamed that his widow would move them out of LA (first to Anaheim and then to St Louis). I hope St Louis gets another team. The Rams should return to LA”

    This is all just insanity! Why not leave the teams where they are and just trade names. The Rams stay in St. Louis but become the St. Louis Raiders. Cheaper by far, and far less hassle for everybody involved.

  52. I don’t buy it. I doubt that a vote of the Inglewood City Council does away with environmental issues since these things are mostly dealt with at the state level.

    The City Council has no Authority to circumvent existing State and federal Environmental Laws in the building of a new Stadium.If a Stadium were to rise up with complete disregard for all Environmental Laws, the Lawsuit’s would be coming out of the woodwork from every source imaginable. The City Council is not doing Kronke any favors.

  53. For all the people spouting nonsense about how skipping the Environmental Reviews is a bad idea, or somehow illegal… this location already housed a large sports complex (a very popular sports track) for many decades, and it sits next to The Forum where the LA Kings and Lakers played for years.
    They’ve already done the studies years ago, I’m sure nothing has changed that will affect the soil or air quality, and the noise wouldn’t be an issue because the stadium will sit in the middle of a huge parking lot, plenty of space to dissipate noise from surrounding houses.

  56. On every one of these stories, you only have to go about 5 comments down before someone ‘clever’ says “Inglewood always up to no good!” like its 1992 again.

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