Officials Discuss New Proposed Plan To Build NFL Stadium In Carson
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Officials held a news conference Friday to discuss the proposed plan to build a joint NFL stadium that would be home to both the Chargers and the Raiders.
The San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders released a joint statement Thursday announcing they were moving forward with a back-up plan to share a privately-financed $1.7 billion stadium in Carson.
The teams, who are working with the business coalition Carson2gether, say they have already purchased the landfill near the 405 Freeway and Del Amo Boulevard and will build the stadium if they are unable to strike stadium deals in their own cities, which both teams have tried to do for years.
"We want the Chargers to know, and we want the Raiders to know, if you can't work it out with your cities, we will welcome you with open arms here in Carson," U.S. Representative Janice Hahn said during Friday's 10 a.m. news conference.
"I have a little experience with taking a team from another city when I was a little girl. Many of you remember, my dad Kenny Hahn met with Walter O'Malley of the Brooklyn Dodgers," she continued.
"All they wanted was a new stadium and Brooklyn wouldn't give it to them, so Los Angeles, with open arms, brought the Dodgers to Los Angeles, and we have benefited every single day."
Carson2gether officials said they plan to launch a petition drive to put a stadium referendum on the ballot or seek approval for the project by the Carson City Council.
"This is not a project that will happen overnight and with the amount of energy displayed by the city's leadership . . . we know we can be successful in convincing this community to move forward with this project," Carson2gether official said.
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The plans include an 168-acre site with 18,000 parking spots.
It was unclear if the NFL would approve two teams from the same division to share a stadium.
Thursday's announcement was the latest in a series of proposals that would bring an NFL team back to the Southland.
St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke and Stockbridge Capital, which owns the former Hollywood Park racetrack, announced in January plans to build an 80,000-seat NFL stadium as part of a complex that also includes a theater, retail businesses and a residential district in Inglewood. The city is expected to hold a referendum on the plan later this year.
"We were very candid, I think, with the people of San Diego for months now that we needed to keep our options open because of what the Rams owner did in Inglewood," Chargers Attorney Mark Fabiani said.
There have also been four other stadium proposals, including the Farmer's Field plan in downtown Los Angeles.
The NFL has said it has no plans for any of the three teams to move to Los Angeles in 2015, but the Chargers, Raiders and Rams are all on year-to-year leases at their current facilities. The league also mentioned any team moving to Los Angeles would need approval from three-quarters of the league's owners.
