AEG "has been given a key role" in helping L.A. figure out what to do should the city's plans to build a stadium for an NFL team "fall apart," according to David Zahniser of the L.A. TIMES. That involvement "is triggering questions about whether the company's private interests could run afoul of the city's public interests." L.A. officials "have been hoping that AEG's proposed 72,000-seat football stadium would generate much of the money needed for a pricey upgrade of the city-owned convention center next door." But as the city's NFL prospects "began to dim last year, convention center officials got serious about a backup plan," which included "the idea of putting a 1,000-room hotel alongside the convention center." Work on that plan "was ramping up in September when AEG asked for six more months to land a football team." Company officials as part of that announcement "made it clear: They don't think a hotel should be built next to the convention center." AEG "has its own 54-story hotel tower at L.A. Live, one that serves convention-goers." If city officials "decide not to follow AEG's advice, a competing hotel could go up" between the convention center and L.A. Live (L.A. TIMES, 11/4).
