Los Angeles OKs outlines of downtown football stadium deal

[213]

So, the stadium as proposed is altogether feasible if...

• AEG can limit car trips to something under 19,000 (half of which would gridlock access to the CBD regardless)

• the city permits the installation of 14 oversized digital billboards facing one of the busiest freeways in the region

• the convention center is partially torn down and reconfigured in ways that don't necessarily enhance its marketability

• an NFL franchise can be found

• that franchise agrees to surrender 30-50% of its control to AEG

A hell of a series of ifs, for benefits that remain highly speculative -- apart from those accruing to the developer.

[ocman]

27% is a very optimistic number. It would be logical for AEG to spend a few extra million in constructing a multi-tiered parking structure outside of the CBD along a rail system where they can direct a lot of cars. Congestion-weary angelenos should have the foresight to prefer that option rather than battling for a parking space in downtown.

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

Originally Posted by 213

So, the stadium as proposed is altogether feasible if...

• AEG can limit car trips to something under 19,000 (half of which would gridlock access to the CBD regardless)

• the city permits the installation of 14 oversized digital billboards facing one of the busiest freeways in the region

• the convention center is partially torn down and reconfigured in ways that don't necessarily enhance its marketability

• an NFL franchise can be found

• that franchise agrees to surrender 30-50% of its control to AEG

A hell of a series of ifs, for benefits that remain highly speculative -- apart from those accruing to the developer.

1) nonsense. about 400000 - 500000 people make their way to downtown LA on a weekday, 10,000 cars will not do anything on a Sunday. Believe me, i live downtown and Sundays are very quiet

2) dont really care either way about the billboards
3) It most definitely enhances the marketability. it creates contiguous space which does not currently exist
4) no problem. the rams are the most likely team
5) the value of teh franchise will basically double as soon as they move to LA so its not so out of the question. its all part of the negotiations.

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

Originally Posted by ocman

27% is a very optimistic number. It would be logical for AEG to spend a few extra million in constructing a multi-tiered parking structure outside of the CBD along a rail system where they can direct a lot of cars. Congestion-weary angelenos should have the foresight to prefer that option rather than battling for a parking space in downtown.

within 3 blocks of the LA Live / Farmers Field / Staples Center area you will have access to the following

1) Red Line
2) Purple Line
3) Blue Line
4) Expo Line
5) Silver Line

and 7th street metro connects to Union Station which connects to Amtrak, MetroLink, the Gold Line etc

[bobcat]

Originally Posted by ocman

27% is a very optimistic number.

Optimistic but not impossible, I think. According to latest figures 31% of Hollywood Bowl patrons arrive via the extensive Park and Ride shuttle network, and that location doesn't have the extensive transit connections that DTLA does. As for congestion, I think a lot problems would be mitigated if patrons could be convinced to arrive early and/or linger afterwards. That's the problem with isolated locations like Dodger Stadium or City of Industry--there's no reason to go early and nobody wants to stay there longer than they have to.

[JDRCRASH]

Originally Posted by LosAngelesSportsFan

within 3 blocks of the LA Live / Farmers Field / Staples Center area you will have access to the following

1) Red Line
2) Purple Line
3) Blue Line
4) Expo Line
5) Silver Line

and 7th street metro connects to Union Station which connects to Amtrak, MetroLink, the Gold Line etc

Don't forget the eventual streetcar.

[all of the trash]

27% IS very optimistic. AEG was citing statistics for cities like Minneapolis and San Francisco where ticketholders were 30% and up for transit usage for sporting events. But does AEG even have stats for how many people use transit for Lakers/clippers/kings games? That would be pretty informative but I didn't see that in the EIR

[Wizened Variations]

Be very wary of AEG. This company often achieves quick profit at the expense of good long term planning. Their traditional commodus operandi is to quick sell portions of railroad yards they have owned to politically connected partners, then get city financing to cover the spread to develope a statium/arena.

I've seen this in Denver, where the A of Anchutz bought a railroad on borrowed money (using some of his billions as collateral) then pushed a quick development of a basketball-hokey amphitheater using real estate partners to build developments which precluded good future public transporation.

I have about something similiar, too, in Sack of Tomatoes.

[ozone]

AEG doesn't own the property of the proposed arena on the edge of the Railyards in Sacramento. The city owns it. AEG's involvement here is primarily to stop the Kings from moving to Anahiem and competing with Staples and it's primary tenents the Lakers and Clippers.

[J. Will]

Remember the old days when NFL/MLB/NHL/NBA used to enter new cities through expansion? Ahh...the good old days.

[ozone]

Yeah WTF happened to expansion? Then again what happened to the Brooklyn Dodgers, Minneapolis Lakers, NY Giants (Baseball), Baltimore Colts, St. Louis Cardinals, Los Angeles Rams, Philadelphia then Kansas City Athletics (A's), Los Angeles Raiders, Houston Oilers, New Orleans Jazz, and San Diego Clippers?

[M II A II R II K]

A win-win scenario for Farmers Field


April 23, 2012

By Donald Shoup

Read More: http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/...0,449413.story

If it is built, the proposed 72,000-seat Farmers Field stadium in downtown Los Angeles will bring many benefits but also major traffic congestion. Despite an optimistic estimate that 20% of patrons will ride public transit on a weekday, and 15% on weekends, the project's environmental impact report says almost 20,000 cars will also arrive for events there.

- Other stadiums have greatly increased transit ridership by contracting with public transit operators so that all ticket holders can ride trains and buses free on game day. The 72,000-seat Husky Stadium in Seattle, for example, contracts with Seattle Metro to allow game tickets to serve as transit passes on game days. The share of ticket holders arriving by public transit jumped from 4% the year before the program began in 1987 to 20% in 2008, according to the University of Washington.

- In Los Angeles, bundling transit rides with game tickets means treating each ticket as a Metro day pass. Metro charges $5 for a day pass, but AEG would pay Metro this $5 only if a ticket holder rides transit on a game day. If 20% of ticket holders ride Metro to Farmers Field, AEG's cost for offering free transit to everyone would therefore average only $1 a ticket. Fare-free or subsidized public transit is already common for specific groups in Los Angeles, and it works well. Cal State Long Beach and Santa Monica College, for example, offer fare-free transit for all students, and the ridership increases have been dramatic.

- AEG has stated that it intends to make Farmers Field a transit-oriented development that will increase transit use and decrease auto use. Nevertheless, AEG still plans to build two parking garages to accommodate the 20,000 cars that the stadium is expected to draw. Because peak travel demand at a stadium occurs infrequently, adding public transit service on game days would be much cheaper than building enough parking spaces to satisfy all these occasional drivers. By offering free transit to all ticket holders, AEG can reduce traffic congestion and the cost of building garages.

- If AEG builds fewer parking spaces, it can use what it saves on construction to pay for the free transit passes that will reduce parking demand. Furthermore, bundling transit passes into ticket prices will also provide a reliable new revenue stream for public transportation. Metro will have the money to increase transit service to Farmers Field because AEG will pay for the added event ridership. Including free transit in ticket prices offers obvious benefits to everyone who rides a bus or train to Farmers Field. Reduced traffic congestion and competition for parking spaces will also benefit those who drive to the stadium. And because many spectators drink at games, including transit passes in the ticket prices might even reduce drunk driving on the way home.

.....

[pesto]

It will certainly be desirable to get more fans to use transit to games.

[BrandonJXN]

For those who haven't seen the newer renderings.


https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net...31900312_n.jpg


https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net...90062360_n.jpg


https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net...97082448_n.jpg


https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/530156_329296790470544_131766036890288_900184_1804283588_n.jpg[/img]


https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net...63434304_n.jpg


http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5192/6...c8034002_c.jpg


http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7131/7...a74d5bed_c.jpg

[JDRCRASH]

Well it's official: The Vikings are off the table...

Minnesota Vikings have stadium; state must raise the money

Associated Press

May 11, 2012

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Now that the Minnesota Vikings will get their new stadium, the worrying can begin over a gambling expansion designed to pay the state's share of the $975 million project.

By passing the final stadium bill Thursday, lawmakers committed the state to raising $348 million by allowing electronic pull-tabs and bingo in bars and restaurants. The financing plan drew skepticism on the bill's way through the Legislature, prompting the sponsors to include backup measures in case the pull-tab dollars don't materialize, including a lottery game and luxury suite taxes.

Gov. Mark Dayton has pledged to sign the stadium bill into law after serving as its chief cheerleader. Backers pushed it through the Legislature after years of failed attempts, despite opposition from no-new-spending Republicans, liberal Democrats and even the top House Republican, Speaker Kurt Zellers.

Dayton publicly thanked owners Zygi and Mark Wilf for agreeing to a $50 million bump in their share in final negotiations this week.. . .

READ MORE. . .

Source:http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d...headline_stack

[Wizened Variations]

Originally Posted by ThreeHundred

For those who haven't seen the newer renderings.


https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net...31900312_n.jpg


https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net...90062360_n.jpg


https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net...97082448_n.jpg


https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/530156_329296790470544_131766036890288_900184_1804283588_n.jpg[/img]


https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net...63434304_n.jpg


http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5192/6...c8034002_c.jpg


http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7131/7...a74d5bed_c.jpg

IMO-

Discount the abundant people in the pictures. The only time there will be this many people walking there will be immediately before and shortly after a venue.

The spaces illustrated provided no other reason for anyone to visit, other than to attend a game. People will enter and exit the space in waves, with little or no desire to spend extra 'cash' above ticket prices Most of the time, the space will be vacant, and, very well policed.

In picture one, I see a large road running parallel to two huge venues with a ice rink pasted in. How convenient would that be to visit?

In picture two, I see a wildly unlikely peopling scenario with a smattering of tents suggesting some kind of "Taste of LA" thing. Perhaps 75 people are pasted into the space, in front of a facility that seats 10s of thousands, that when the venue is used, would dash through the space like a dust devil to disappear to cars, etc. (Besides, on the left facing street, there isn't too many places to drop and/or pick up game attendees, so there would be even less reason to use the space.)

Picture three just shows people going to and/or from a venue.

Picture four is rather humorous in that when a game was playing (the huge screen and hints of a full house being the key) spaces outside would be deserted, other than for late comers.

Picture 5 is extremely deceptive. In the plaza defined by 4 huge buildings multiple events are being undertaken, with fairly large well dispersed crowds in the space. Again, look at what the space actually is: streets and a walkway to and from sports arenas.

Perhaps they should provide free food....

Picture 6 just shows the general architecture of Farmer Stadium. A 21st Century football stadium is just a 21st Century football statium, used maybe 25 days per year.

Picture 7 shows what the space would look like most of the time.

[all of the trash]

^Pathetic isn't it?

The LA Live campus is surrounded by the 110 freeway on one end and Figueroa on the other which might as well be a freeway itself. Outside of that there is no neighborhood, no reason for anyone to go there outside events. The LA subforumers here have this delusion that its okay if LA Live is this fugly hulking insular waste of space because its bringing people downtown. Yeah sure it is, for about 3 hours. Once an event is over people get back in their cars and drive back to their homes in West Covina or Buena Park or whatever. LA Live would just as well have the same impact on the downtown LA if it were built in Carson.

[all of the trash]

Also the football stadium hasn't been built and its already outdated looking

We Angelenos have extremely low standards for our public spaces.

[edluva]

^well, angelenos as a whole aren't very sophisticated people, especially where it concerns architecture.

as far as transit usage goes, i wonder what the demographic breakdown of football patrons will be as far as income goes.

i tend to believe they will be overwhelmingly auto-dependent suburbanites from the valleys, south bay, and orange county, and not the people who live anywhere near transit (poor latinos and blacks), and i forsee nightmarish traffic getting to and from the stadium on game days, with transit making barely a dent.

even if we had built out our 30 year plan tommorow, you'll see overwhelmingly car-dependent patronage to farmers field from the above mentioned suburbs, because the fact remains there's no convenient way for those tens of thousands of people to ride transit from suburban LA, even with metro's plan in place.

in the end, it remains true that the types of people politicians and ssper's want to see gentrify, populate, and transform los angeles are the yuppies who don't care to live here.

[ocman]

Stadiums and convention centers are pedestrian killers anyway, aren't they? They're empty most of the time. The good thing about LA Live is that all of these occasional-use structures are contained in a single area, minimizing the possibly devastating effects AEG would have had their hold of the city been dispersed among other areas with actual potential. What's funny is that even though the project clearly attempts to keep people within its plaza , there's nothing there. It doesn't even attempt to be CityWalk. It's just a looooong walk to get from the parking lot to any of the stadiums.