By the "plodding standards of big development in Southern California, the plan to build a football stadium in Inglewood is moving at a brisk pace," according to a front-page piece by Logan & Jennings of the L.A. TIMES. Hollywood Park Land Co., which is working on the stadium plan with Rams Owner Stan Kroenke, aims to "slice through red tape that normally entangles major projects -- often for years -- by using a quirk in the way the state election and environmental laws work together." They have "proposed zoning changes for the stadium through a ballot initiative." It is "unclear how soon full-scale construction could begin, but developers want to break ground on the 80,000-seat, billion-dollar-plus stadium at the former Hollywood Park racetrack by year's end." That would give Kroenke "a big head start in the race" to bring an NFL team to L.A. In just 18 days, the developers "collected 22,000 signatures, more than twice what was needed to put the measure on the ballot." One "potentially even quicker option" involves the Inglewood City Council, under initiative law, bypassing an election entirely and "simply" adopting the measure itself (L.A. TIMES, 2/9). In St. Louis, David Hunn notes "dump trucks and excavators are lined up" at the Inglewood site in anticipation of possibly breaking ground on the stadium. Developers also "have begun clearing land and laying water lines." Inglewood officials said that the plan "is real, with or without" an NFL team. Still, stadium construction "is a race" in L.A., and it is "not clear Kroenke will win" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 2/9).
PLAYING THE GAME: In San Diego, Dan McSwain noted media attention around the Inglewood development has focused on Kroenke, but the "heavy lifting has come from his partner," Stockbridge Capital Exec Managing Dir Terry Fancher. Meanwhile, under NFL revenue rules, the Chargers "might earn more money by sharing an L.A. stadium with Kroenke’s Rams than by staying put in aging Qualcomm Stadium." This scenario "probably explains why San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer has formed a task force to study building a new stadium to keep the Chargers" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 2/8). In San Diego, Lori Weisberg reported Faulconer's stadium task force "held its first meeting Friday and quickly decided to schedule an open forum in order to solicit the public’s feedback on a new home for the Chargers." The decision "comes following criticism from some, including two City Council members, about the plan to hold task force meetings behind closed doors." Task force Chair Adam Day said that the nine-member group, "which met for 1-1/2 hours late Friday afternoon in private, did not decide when the forum will take place but it will be soon." He added that the group's hope "is to beat a September deadline for completing its work" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 2/7).
A CHANCE ENCOUNTER? In St. Louis, Bernie Miklasz reported it "doesn’t qualify as a formal meeting," but former Anheuser-Busch President David Peacock, who was appointed as a stadium planner in November, "spent about 20 minutes in casual conversation" with Kroenke at the NFL's Super Bowl party in Phoenix. Sources said that Kroenke and Peacock "had an amiable encounter and discussed topics ranging from Mizzou athletics to the NBA." Sources added that the pair "did touch on the local efforts to build an NFL stadium." The conversation is an "interesting development, but it’s advisable to view it for what it was: two guys talking sports." Perhaps this "was a good way to break the ice -- and the tension" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 2/8).
