Concerns Rise As L.A.’s NFL Stadium Deal Reaches $1B Mark
The cost to the NFL of building or renovating a stadium in L.A. has reached $1B, the league told owners yesterday at their fall meeting in New Orleans. The estimate is far higher than the $800M range previously circulated. The big question is whether this figure will scare owners away from committing to L.A. Sportscorp President Marc Ganis: “It’s hard to make the numbers pencil out at $1B” (Daniel Kaplan, SportsBusiness Journal). Saints Owner and NFL Finance Committee Chair Tom Benson: “I don’t think at this meeting anybody was prepared to pay that for [an L.A.] stadium. I don’t know if somebody else is out there who’s willing to come into the NFL and do that or not. At this moment, I think it’s on the back burner.” Broncos Owner Pat Bowlen added L.A. is “on our radar screen, but we’re not concentrating on it right now.” In L.A., Sam Farmer notes the NFL “has worked on the stadium component without first identifying a team that could potentially move or an ownership group.” When asked if that approach could change, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said, “Circumstances may change where we take a different approach to go forward” (L.A. TIMES, 10/25). In L.A., Billy Witz notes the cost of a team in addition to the stadium “figures to start” at $1.7B. There is “concern that some prospective owners would blanch at such a high price.” An alternative that is “gaining popularity among some owners is turning to the private sector” for an owner and developer “to assume the risk for building the stadium.” Benson said, “I’m cautiously optimistic that somebody –- we’ve tried working with government and local people — that maybe now an entrepreneur will come out.” Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones added that it is “harder to ask an owner to assume a financial risk if [that person is] not involved in the stadium-building decisions” (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 10/25).
STILL INTERESTED: L.A. Coliseum Commission member David Israel believes the $1B estimate to renovate the facility is “substantially inflated.” Israel: “We believe the cost of remodeling the Coliseum with all the bells and whistles to be [$700-750M]. ... We’ve been ready to make a deal for going on two years. The only thing the delays have done is increase the costs. Waiting is not going to make it cheaper.” Meanwhile, Anaheim Public Information Manager John Nicoletti said that the new estimate “does not change the city’s decision to review other options for the 53-acre site” (L.A. TIMES, 10/25).
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