A coalition of anti-poverty groups has "agreed to drop a lawsuit" involving AEG's proposed $1.2B Farmers Field NFL stadium in downtown L.A., "clearing the last remaining legal obstacle" to the city's approval of the project, according to Mai-Duc & Linthicum of the L.A. TIMES. AEG on Thursday said that it has pledged $15M for a "low-income housing trust fund to end the litigation." The settlement "comes days after the deadline for filing environmental challenges to the stadium." AEG President & CEO Tim Leiweke said that "no such lawsuits were filed," which means the company "has the entitlements to start building as soon as it wants." He added that "the next step is to find a new owner for AEG, and he hinted that an announcement may 'come sooner than people expect.'" The settlement with the Play Fair at Farmers Field coalition "comes on top of roughly $50 million in concessions the company says it has already agreed to pay, including $10 million for a new light-rail platform at a Metro Blue Line Station and $8 million in upgrades to a plaza outside the Convention Center" (L.A. TIMES, 11/2). ESPN L.A.'s Arash Markazi noted Farmers Field is "now in a position to break ground as soon as a team commits" to playing in L.A. Leiweke said that "when and if construction does begin," it will be "about four years until the stadium and convention center is finished" (ESPNLA.com, 11/1).
