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It seemed like things couldn't get going fast enough earlier this year when the Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) was trying to sell Los Angeles leaders and residents on building another sports stadium at their Downtown L.A. Live campus. They gave it a name, and Angelenos the hardsell, and the hunt for an NFL team to call it home continued.
So why does the OC Register say all these months later, "planning department officials are still waiting" to get the documentation they need to keep the project moving?
What the city planners are waiting on is the massive--10,000 pages, potentially--Environmental Impact Report (EIR).
"AEG president Tim Leiweke said the project’s EIR is half complete. AEG officials said they expect to provide city officials with documents later this year and remain on schedule to provide the city with a draft of the EIR by January 2012," notes the Register, adding that Leiweke says the City knows that this was AEG's schedule for the documentation.
The City, in return, seems a little dubious about AEG's progress.
Meanwhile, there are other issues holding AEG back. Today attorneys for AEG singled out Los Angeles County Supervisor, and alleged he "may have a financial conflict of interest that should bar him from involvement in actions tied to the project," reports L.A. Now. "The potential conflict stems from claims by Supervisor Michael Antonovich's wife that she is owed hundreds of thousands of dollars by an affiliate of the stadium developer."
It's not all bad news, though, when it comes to Farmers Field. Today AEG sent out a release saying that they have more folks on their side:
The Independent Cities Association (ICA), an organization of elected officials representing 54 municipalities and 7.1 million residents across Los Angeles County, announced today their formal Resolution of Endorsement for AEG’s Farmers Field and L.A. Convention Center modernization project.
As part of the stipulations for building the stadium, a NFL team must commit to playing at the venue. So far, there's been no takers.
