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"Councilmember Bernard Parks visits CCA's Executive Committee"
Parks Visits CCA Executive Committee and Speaks of NFL's Possible Return to L.A.
Councilmember Bernard Parks
joined CCA's Executive Committee at the
California Hospital Medical Center
this Thursday, July 6th. Parks gave the Committee insight into possible National Football League (NFL) plans to rebuild the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Appointed Vice-President of the Coliseum Commission during his first year in office, Parks has been a leader in the effort to return an NFL team to the Coliseum. Parks spoke about the City's recent efforts to bring the NFL back to Los Angeles.
According to Parks, Los Angeles is closer now than it has been in more than a decade to acquiring a professional football team. In fact, the City Council recently approved a series of final efforts designed to show team owners that the City is prepared to close a deal. The City would like to start re-building the stadium by the end of 2007 in order to have the NFL here by 2010.
Initial drawings of the stadium call for creating a 67,000-seat facility with 200 luxury suites and 20,000 club seats, with seating possibly being expanded to accommodate USC games. Parks has stood by his pledge to not use Los Angeles City General Fund money for this project, noting that if the deal comes through, the NFL has agreed to pay the entire cost of rebuilding the stadium, making this the best deal any municipality in the U.S. has ever received.
Due to the fact that there will be no public subsidy for this project, the NFL is completing a $5 million study to ensure they have the business support and financial commitment necessary to make this an economically feasible venture. USC is negotiating their own deal with the NFL in hopes of reaching a mutually agreeable deal that protects USC and its athletics program.
For Parks, the effort to bring the NFL back to the Coliseum is an economic investment in South Los Angeles that will further the growth that is taking place along the Figueroa Corridor.
CCA would like to thank Cliff Hoffman and the California Hospital Medical Center for hosting the Executive Committee luncheon. |
• On Wednesday, CCA staff attended and testified at a CRA Board Meeting in support of Urban Partner's University Gateway mixed-use project. CRA approved the project that will be a positive addition to the neighborhood around USC. • Mark Your Calendars for July's General Membership Meeting "The Business of Sports," with the Dodger's Tommy Lasorda, Bill Chadwick of the L.A. Coliseum, and David Simon of the L.A. Sports Council. • The Planning Department is organizing a community workshop to discuss the City's industrial land proposal for the Westside on the evening of July 19th or July 20th. Location TBD. This is an important issue for CCA, who has taken a lead in putting together an industrial land framework from the business community. • The Executive Committee took action on several items, voting to unanimously support Los Angeles City Councilmember Greig Smith's candidacy for re-election; Urban Partner's plans for the Herald Examiner building and their University Gateway mixed-use project; and Gilmore Associates mixed-use Vibiana Lofts project.
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