Anschutz Entertainment Group has dropped its bid to build an NFL stadium in downtown Los Angeles.
The Los Angeles Times reported Monday that AEG officials will not pursue the Farmers Field project it first announced five years ago. AEG hoped the prospect of a new stadium would lure an NFL team back to Los Angeles, and some NFL execs and team owners have publicly been supportive of the project. The city has not had an NFL team since the Rams and Raiders left after the 1994 season.
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But after spending $50 million on the stadium proposal, AEG vice chairman Ted Fikre told the Times, “I think it’s fair to say we have turned our attention to proceeding with an alternative development.”
Observers say the downtown site — which would have been built next to the Staples Center, home of the Lakers and Clippers of the NBA and the Kings of the NHL — has been overshadowed by two more recent Los Angeles-area stadium proposals. The first stadium project, backed by Rams owner Stan Kroenke, is in the suburb of Inglewood. The second proposal, announced last month, involves a joint partnership between the Raiders and Chargers to build a $1.7 billion stadium in Carson, Calif., less than 20 miles from downtown LA.
The AEG stadium effort made news in late February when an AEG-funded report conducted by former secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge determined the Inglewood site would be a tempting target for terrorists and should not be built.
The Inglewood stadium, proposed for the site of the old Hollywood Park horse-racing track, earned approval from the Inglewood City Council last month. Supporters of the Carson stadium site plan to launch a petition drive to get that proposal on the ballot to seek public approval.