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L.A. to NFL: If We Build It You Will Come. And You Must Stay.
Proposed Downtown stadium Farmers Field (Gensler)
One of the biggest hitches in the whole Farmers Field Stadium in Downtown plan is that we don't have a National Football League team. Now a city negotiator is saying Los Angeles will need not only a team to seal the deal, but that team would have to sign on for 20 to 30 years in the proposed stadium.
Chief Legislative Analyst Gerry Miller told a City Council panel that the team would have to stay put "until city debt related to the project is repaid," according to the LA Times, which is estimated will take two to three decades.
How the project, which is backed by developer Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), will be paid for, has been a major source of contention for Angelenos. In order to put in their share, the city would have to borrow $350 million, and "AEG has promised to make up any shortfall in new tax revenue needed to repay the debt."
AEG does not have a team lined up for Farmers Field, and while experts say getting one to sign on to a long-term commitment to the venue could happen, it won't be easy.
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