For professional football fans in the greater Los Angeles area, dreams of an NFL team returning could be on the verge of becoming a reality. Plans to build a stadium in Inglewood are moving very fast. Faster than a project of this magnitude typically moves.
Developers of the project are looking to break ground on a $2 billion, 80,000-seat stadium at the site of the Hollywood Park racetrack before the end of this year. This would open the door for Stan Kroenke, owner of the St. Louis Rams, to return his franchise to the Los Angeles area.
There are mixed feelings from residents in the city of Inglewood, but the Office of the City Clerk has received a petition with more than 22,000 signatures supporting the City of Champions Revitalization Initiative.
The petitions have been sent to the Los Angeles County Registrar Records to verify that at least 8,400 of the petitions are valid. If the signatures are deemed valid, the initiative will go before the Inglewood City Council to position them to call for a special election, which could happen as early as June. This matter will not be included on the April 7 ballot.
The Inglewood City Council could make a decision without a vote from residents, and adopt the measure. The city will conduct studies of economic and environmental impacts by next month. Mayor James T. Butts has pointed out that the original Hollywood Park plan, which would have included 3,000 houses, and office and retail space, had an environmental review that was approved in 2009.
While this plan appears to be supported by many residents, others have questioned if a stadium in Inglewood would negatively affect the city. Major issues include traffic, parking, and the public use of parks on the site.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has stated that the league will have to green light a move by the Rams, and that a single team cannot control when and where a move can take place.
Goodall has established an internal committee to review stadium options in Los Angeles. There are still plans in the works in Downtown Los Angeles and in the City of Industry, and there have also been rumors of the San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders moving to the Los Angeles area.
All three of the teams that are rumored to move to Los Angeles are on year-to-year leases with the stadiums that they play in currently.
The city of St. Louis and the state of Missouri are making plans to keep the Rams. It appears that Kroenke wants to use funds from tax payers to pay for a stadium to keep the team in St. Louis, but the plan in Inglewood would use private funds.
