In L.A., Catherine Saillant reports city officials yesterday agreed to "pursue a parallel track" for redeveloping the Convention Center in the event that AEG and the NFL "fail to reach agreement on the Farmer’s Field stadium downtown." L.A. City Council member Jan Perry said that she "remains hopeful that the city can continue to work with the entertainment giant in both drawing an NFL franchise and building the stadium in the L.A. Live area" (L.A. TIMES, 3/28). Perry proposed that the city "look into revising" its agreement with AEG. An L.A. City Council committee instructed staff to "come back in 30 days with ideas for financing a renovation of the Convention Center in the event the proposed football stadium falls through" (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 3/28).
CAT SCRATCH FEVER: In Charlotte, Jim Morrill notes the North Carolina House "passed a bill that would allow the city to use taxes, now earmarked for the Charlotte Convention Center," toward renovating Bank of America Stadium. The bill now goes to the state Senate, and city officials are "confident the measure will persuade the team to stay in Charlotte." The taxes "would generate" around $110M of the city's original $144M deal with the Panthers, a "so-called 'tether' tying the team to Charlotte for 15 years" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 3/28).
SUN DEVIL ALSO RISES: In Phoenix, Jeff Metcalfe noted the '16 season is "the soonest" the Arizona State Univ. football team will be playing in a new Sun Devil Stadium. ASU AD & VP/Athletics Steve Patterson yesterday said that a "financing plan while not final is starting to come together and if 'a few political decisions' go ASU's way between now and the end of the school year that a timetable could be set under which" ASU would play at another stadium in '15 before returning in '16 (AZCENTRAL.com, 3/27).
