AEG President & CEO Tim Leiweke on Thursday said that company Chair Phil Anschutz is "prepared to acquire majority ownership in an NFL franchise in order to bring a team to Farmers Field," the AEG-proposed stadium in downtown L.A., according to Scott Reid of the ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER. Leiweke said that he "has spoken with officials from five" NFL franchises: the Vikings, Chargers, Raiders, Rams and Jaguars. Leiweke noted he last spoke with a franchise "a week ago." He said, "St. Louis, Jacksonville, not extensively, certainly Oakland, San Diego, Minnesota are still in the mix. We're not packing any (moving) vans right now." Leiweke also said that AEG is "prepared to pay the cost" of an NFL franchise to "get out of a current lease so as to relocate" to L.A. Leiweke: "Just as an example, if it's San Diego, they would have to pay $24 million under their agreement to get out of the lease. We would pay that." He also confirmed that AEG "has been working on an environmental impact report for eight months and hopes to have the report completed by May 31, 2012." Leiweke reiterated AEG's July 31 deadline for "reaching a memorandum of understanding with the Los Angeles City Council in order for AEG to move forward with the project" (ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, 6/10).
HURRY-UP OFFENSE? An L.A. DAILY NEWS editorial states city officials "ought to push back" on AEG's July 31 deadline and "indicate they won't budge unless it's a deal the city can afford." If Leiweke "sounded impatient, maybe that's a good thing." It might be a "sign City Hall is taking its job seriously, slowing down to be sure the stadium's public costs won't exceed its benefits." The editorial continues, "The pace of the game has changed since a couple of months ago, when the AEG stadium idea seemed to have unstoppable momentum, worrying L.A. government watchdogs and boosters of a rival stadium plan in the City of Industry" (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 6/10).
