City Of Industry Stadium Bill Signed Into Law Today

Stadium Project Will Be Allowed To Proceed As Soon As Law Takes Effect In 90 Days

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger this morning signed a bill "granting final approval to an NFL stadium proposal" in City of Industry, allowing Majestic Realty Co. Chair & CEO Ed Roski to proceed with his $800M project "as soon as the law takes effect," according to James Wagner of the SAN GABRIEL VALLEY TRIBUNE. A signing ceremony took place at the 600-acre stadium site, and the office of California state Assembly member Isadore Hall III, who authored the bill, said that it "will take effect 90 days from today's scheduled signing." The bill, which grants the project "exemption from state environmental laws," will end more than a year of delays to the project. Industry Mayor Dave Perez: "I think now we can move forward. And once the momentum gets going, it'll help the whole east San Gabriel Valley." But the stadium project is "far from complete." Sponsorships, "including the stadium's naming right, must be secured." Also, millions of "cubic yards of dirt at the stadium site must be moved," and a "financing plan must be nailed down." Majestic officials said that construction "won't begin until a team is secured, and the team search will start after February's Super Bowl" (SAN GABRIEL VALLEY TRIBUNE, 10/22).

GOAL-LINE STAND: A S.F. CHRONICLE editorial is written under the header, "Deal For Football Stadium Is Out Of Bounds." The precedent the stadium sets is "going to come back to haunt other cities ... one way or another." The editorial: "At the very least, expect the 49ers, Chargers and Raiders -- all occupants of aging stadiums -- to ask for the same sweetheart deal when they try to build new venues. And don't be surprised if one or more of them get courted to move to a gleaming stadium that received a significant state boost" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 10/22). A SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE editorial states Schwarzenegger signing a bill that provides "unique exemptions" is an "appalling display of regional favoritism." Schwarzenegger must know that Roski "is both close to the Spanoses and very interested in the Chargers," so he "could have said that as a condition of getting the environmental waiver, Roski would be banned from pursuing" the Chargers, 49ers or Raiders. Schwarzenegger also "could have said that Roski could only be given the waiver if similar arrangements were authorized in advance for new stadium projects sought" by the three teams (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 10/22).

BUILD IT AND THEY WILL COME: SI's Jon Wertheim writes the "most obvious reason for" L.A.'s current lack of an NFL team is the city's "lack of a modern venue." The Industry stadium will be a "hash-marked Taj Mahal." The 75,000-seat venue will "boast swank suites, a beer garden, a music stage and, this being L.A., a private entrance for celebrities and luxury suite denizens." But it also will be "as intimate as a college stadium, with loads of affordable seats." Majestic Realty officials claimed that they have "fielded more than 3,000 requests to reserve the 176 luxury suites and almost 80,000 for the 12,500 club seats" at the stadium, which is "one reason the NFL ... now takes [Roski] seriously." It is "ultimately up to the other NFL owners to approve a sale to Roski, but the league office can certainly facilitate the process" (SI, 10/26 issue).