LA NFL stadium developer releases impact plan

"  LOS ANGELES (AP) A group seeking to bring the NFL back to Los Angeles unveiled amassive environmental plan Thursday, laying out ways to deal withthe traffic nightmare that throngs of fans could create around theproposed $1.4 billion downtown stadium on game days.Required under a state agreement to make the planned 72,000-seatFarmer's Field environmentally friendly, Anschutz EntertainmentGroup said it will spend about $35 million to reduce the trafficfootprint by, among other things, expanding the nearby U.S. 101freeway and a commuter train station.The environmental impact report has a goal of having 25 percentof fans use alternative transportation, with 5,000 people estimatedto walk or bike to games.''We have to change people's habits from the day they buy theirfirst ticket,'' AEG President Tim Leiweke said at a City Hall newsconference.Leiweke stressed the stadium's green credentials in unveilingthe 10,000-page document, which is a key step in returningprofessional football to Los Angeles for the first time since 1994.Leiweke said he hopes the stadium will be ready in time for the2017 season and added that if an NFL team arrives before thestadium is ready, it can use temporary venues such as the Rose Bowlin Pasadena or the Los Angeles Coliseum.The report, which took two years to complete, is a milestone onthe way to luring back a team to Los Angeles, which lost both theRaiders and Rams in 1994. After a 45-day public comment period, thereport goes to the City Council. It also could face legalchallenges but Leiweke praised the completion the $27 millionreport, which he called ''the world's most expensive piece ofpaper.''''In terms of football, we are now in the offensive zone, notthe defensive zone,'' Leiweke said at the news conference where hewas surrounded by helmeted construction workers, janitors and otherunion laborers who back the stadium.The report estimates the stadium could provide 11,000 permanentnew jobs in addition to thousands of construction jobs, andgenerate $1.7 billion for the local economy. However, some analystshave argued that the benefits are overstated.Traffic is a crucial concern. The report itself says the stadiumwill have ''unavoidable significant impacts,'' including nearly20,000 additional car trips downtown on weekends.Leiweke said he was confident that the mitigation plans coulddeal with the upsurge and even the crush from a Super Bowl, notingthat 365,000 people currently travel in and out of downtown everyday.''We can do that on a Sunday for 68,000 people,'' he said. ''Wecan do this. We just have to teach people and reward them for usingmass transportation.''One idea would be to give mass transit users first crack attickets, he said.Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa issued a statement of support for theproject - and especially for returning pro football to thecity.''As the development of Farmer's Field moves forward, LosAngeles is closer to bringing an NFL team here than any time sincethe Raiders and Rams left,'' Villaraigosa said. ''I'm working hardto bring a team to LA, and a world-class stadium is an importantpart of that effort.''But some critics were skeptical. Kevin James, who is running formayor next year, said football's tailgate party culture is hard tochange. He said the percentage of fans who take publictransportation to games in other cities has been low.''You can't put your barbecue on the subway,'' he said.The environmental review could be approved by late this year orthe first quarter of 2013, Leiweke said. With a political plan and$1 billion in private funding in place, Leiweke said, ''we'll beable to look the NFL in the eye and tell them there is no moreexcuse, there is no more reason, there is no more delay, and thereshould be no more negotiation on why we cannot bring football backto Los Angeles.''A rival group, Majestic Realty, has proposed building a stadiumin the City of Industry, outside Los Angeles.Farmer's Field got help from the state in September with thepassage of a law that will help it quickly resolve legal challengesto the project by sending lawsuits over its environmental impactdirectly to the California Court of Appeal and bypassing theSuperior Court. The appeals court would have to make a rulingwithin 175 days.In return, AEG pledged to build a ''green stadium'' and make itpublic-transit friendly.Earlier in the week, Leiweke addressed reports that the companyand the NFL were at odds over team ownership and stadium revenue,saying developer Philip Anschutz is willing to buy a team himselfin order to make the deal work.Leiweke told the Los Angeles Times that Anschutz is ready towrite a check for both the downtown stadium and a team as long ashe can get a ''reasonable'' deal out of the football league.Reports, including one from Yahoo sports, said the NFL wasunhappy with Anschutz's proposal that he own just a small part ofthe team but collect stadium revenues usually reserved forowners.Leiweke has said he has spoken with several teams about movingto Los Angeles, but declined to specify which ones. He said heplans to follow the guidance of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodellabout which teams would be candidates."