L.A. Kings Co-Owner Edward Roski signed a formal proposal to
build a new $240M, 20,000-seat facility near the downtown Los
Angeles convention center if the city agrees to a financing plan,
according to the SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE. The arena would also
have 2,500 club seats and 150-180 luxury suites. Inglewood Mayor
Edward Vincent, who has been working on a similar proposal for
the Hollywood Park area, was "angered" when he learned of the
offer and vowed Inglewood would attempt to block the deal (SAN
DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 8/18). Roski proposed that the city of L.A.
provide land for the project and acquire additional properties
through a $60.5M bond issue. The bond debt would be repaid by a
combination of revenue from real estate sales, parking fees and
hotel taxes generated by the arena. While the city would be
potentially liable if revenue fell short of the $6M-a-year needed
to repay the bonds, many local lawmakers have "praised" the
project, noting there are "powerful reasons" to assume the risk
and make the deal work. Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas predicted
a arena would create a "sports corridor" extending from Dodger
Stadium to the L.A. Coliseum (Rich Connell, L.A. TIMES, 8/18).
