Tim Leiweke, Staples Center's Boss, Wants To Turn Part Of Los Angeles Convention Center Into NFL Stadium
Touche, Ed Roski. Yesterday the developer said his proposed NFL stadium in the City of Industry could also double as a World Cup venue. (To which we said all three soccer fans in L.A. were elated).
L.A. conventioneers, soon to be under AEG's supervision?
Well, today the other shoe dropped. And it didn't have soccer cleats. No, this one had the Italian-suit pleats of AEG president Tim Leiweke, the man behind a potential and thus somewhat competing NFL stadium proposal downtown, who says he might want to use your Los Angeles Convention Center for the venue.
A public giveaway to a billionaire-run company? AEG spokesman Michael Roth told the Weekly "the company was not looking for any giveaway as part of its billion-dollar investment."
Under the potential plan outlined by Leiweke Tuesday, AEG would build a $1 billion stadium with a retractable roof that would double as convention space.
Who's on-board? It's not yet clear. Leiweke said downtown city Councilwoman Jan Perry has been briefed on the potential stadium project, which was aired Tuesday at a Central City Association symposium on the future of downtown called "Continuing The Renaissance."
Since spring the Los Angeles City Council has been discussing turning over one of its most valuable assets -- the Convention Center -- to a private entity that could run it more efficiently and send cash to city coffers.
That's in-line with the idea AEG is considering, which would be to take over management of the convention space, adjacent to its Staples Center, while building a state-of-the-art NFL stadium on land occupied by the old West Hall.
However, Leiweke told the crowd any such potential plans were at least a year away and wouldn't move forward until the NFL dealt with a collective bargaining agreement.
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