Rams Owner, Hollywood Park Group Propose New Stadium In Inglewood

INGLEWOOD (CBSLA.com) — The NFL could be returning to Los Angeles thanks to a real estate development proposal to build a stadium and massive entertainment complex in the city of Inglewood.

Stan Kroenke, who bought a 60-acre lot between The Forum and Hollywood Park Casino in 2013, has teamed up with the owners of the 298-acre Hollywood Park site to build the new arena.

The Hollywood Land Company, a joint venture between Stockbridge Capital Group and The Kroenke Group, plans to build an 80,000-seat stadium, a 6,000-seat performance venue, a 300-room hotel, 2,500 residential units, 1.7 million square feet of retail and office space and 25 acres of public parks, playgrounds and open space on the site.

"It's an exciting project for the city," James T. Butts Jr., the mayor of Inglewood, told KNX 1070. "We are very pleased that someone of his development stature has invested in Inglewood."

The initiative, titled the "City of Champions Revitalization Project," will be built at no cost to taxpayers, if approved.

"After nearly a decade of collaborating with Inglewood city leaders and residents on the redevelopment of Hollywood Park, we are excited to unveil an expanded plan that will bring a world-class sports and entertainment district to Hollywood Park," said Terry Fancher, founder of Stockbridge. "We are committed to working with TKG to build a project that will put Inglewood back on the map as the home of truly great sports and entertainment venues."

The stadium project must be approved by voters through a measure, which will be tentatively placed on the Inglewood municipal ballot in 2015.

"The initiative has already been filed and they have, I believe, less than 90 days to collect the signatures and we'll go from there," Butts said.

The Rams left the Southland for St. Louis in 1995, and the team became eligible to modify or leave its current lease at Edward Jones Dome after the 2014-2015 season. It remains unclear who will play in the arena, if approved.

"The decision of any team that might play in LA is entirely in the hands of the NFL. This is their decision," said Chris Meany of the Hollywood Park Land Company. Meanwhile, the mayor of St. Louis tweeted the following Monday:

There are already two other NFL stadium proposals in Los Angeles: Farmers Field in Downtown LA, next to Staples Center, and another in the City of Industry led by LA Kings co-owner, Ed Roski.

If approved, the stadium could open in 2018.

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