The L.A. City Council on Friday "unanimously approved plans for a privately financed" $250M stadium in Exposition Park, clearing the way for MLS expansion club LAFC to "begin construction on the most expensive soccer-specific project" in league history, according to Kevin Baxter of the L.A. TIMES. The 22,000-seat stadium will be the "centerpiece of a 15-acre complex that will include a conference center, restaurants and a soccer museum." It will be built "next to the Coliseum on the site of the 56-year-old Sports Arena." Construction, including the demolition of the Sports Arena, is scheduled to "begin this summer with the target of getting the stadium finished in time for LAFC’s first home game" in March '18 (L.A. TIMES, 5/7). LAFC Owner & Managing Partner Henry Nguyen said, "It's such an important milestone." LAFC President & Owner Tom Penn added he envisions the stadium as the "cathedral of soccer." In L.A., Thuc Nhi Nguyen noted it will be the "first open-air stadium" built in L.A. since Dodger Stadium in '62. The privately funded plan is "expected to create 1,200 construction jobs and 1,800 full-time jobs" (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 5/7).
BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM: In Miami, Douglas Hanks noted efforts to negotiate a land deal for David Beckham’s proposed soccer stadium "recently hit a snag when negotiators for the celebrity athlete balked at some of the terms Miami-Dade wants in exchange for a county-owned parcel." Beckham and his partners "have yet to sign off on a string of hiring goals, employee benefits and local-business perks that Miami-Dade is demanding as part of the sale." The Beckham group has "already touted its commitment to hiring local workers and using local vendors," but a source said that "some of the details require more analysis" (MIAMI HERALD, 5/7).
