The Carson (Calif.) City Council yesterday moved to "further lay the groundwork for an NFL stadium, taking votes to ensure the site chosen by the Chargers and Raiders is ready for immediate construction if the project is approved later this year," according to a front-page piece by Sandy Mazza of the Torrance DAILY BREEZE. Council members "voted unanimously to set up financing for the final phase of environmental cleanup on the 168-acre former landfill site so the two teams can move if they fail to secure new stadiums in San Diego and Oakland." The Chargers and Raiders "are in escrow to purchase the Carson land from its current owner," Starwood Capital, and yesterday contractually agreed to "transfer it to Carson’s Reclamation Joint Powers Authority, which oversees remediation of environmentally damaged properties." Once it owns the property, the city "can charge the teams rent." City Attorney Sunny Soltani said that it "would amount to more than" $1.2M per year. Soltani added that the teams also have agreed to spend $19M "toward a public benefits program over the life of the project." Goldman Sachs Managing Dir Tim Romer said that the bank "has promised up to" $1.7B for the Carson project. Mazza notes former landfills beneath the property "already have been contained with thick liners," but about $50.5M "worth of cleanup and preparation remains." The Chargers and Raiders "promised to reimburse the city any public funds spent on the stadium plan" (Torrance DAILY BREEZE, 5/6).
SAVE THE DATE: In San Diego, Roger Showley in a front-page piece reports the city "faces a deadline of April 30, 2016, to keep the Chargers from moving" to L.A. The date "shows up in documents" approved yesterday in Carson to take control of the former landfill and "prepare it for a privately financed 68,000-seat football stadium." The agreement states that the Chargers and Raiders, "acting through a partnership called Cardinal Cavalry LLC, must decide by the end of next April whether to build the stadium" on the former landfill site. Otherwise, the site "would be freed up for residential and commercial development." Meanwhile, San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer’s stadium advisory group "plans to announce by May 20 the outlines of a finance plan" for a $1.2B stadium next to Qualcomm Stadium in Mission Valley. City documents show that once the Chargers and Raiders obtain the land in Carson from Starwood, they plan to "lease the land for the stadium at a minimum $400,000 per year." The teams would "build and operate the stadium under a 40-year ground lease but would sign a 20-year commitment to remain in Carson." The teams would pay Carson "250,000 for a marketing plan in case the stadium is not built." A "possible $1.50 per ticket surcharge on non-NFL events at the stadium raises" $1M for a public-benefit program. Youth and senior program fees "would underwrite a community foundation." The teams would cover "interim remediation costs," projected at $1.7M, "until bonds are sold next year to cover remaining landfill cleanup" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 5/6).
BALANCING THE CHECKBOOK: In L.A., Tim Logan cites campaign finance reports as showing that Rams Owner Stan Kroenke spent $1.7M to "bankroll the ballot initiative for his stadium proposal" in Inglewood, Calif. The Chargers and Raiders "spent $534,000 and counting by the end of March in their bid for a stadium in Carson." Both projects "used local ballot initiatives to skirt months of time-consuming environmental reviews that used to be standard in major development projects" in California. AEG officials estimate the company spent $27M "on a 10,000-page environmental impact report for its Farmers Field proposal" in '12 and another $50M on the "now-scrapped project all told" (L.A. TIMES, 5/6).
