DAILY NEWS REPORT - Philip Anschutz says he is taking a more active role in AEG and will continue to pursue the bringing of an NFL team to Farmers Field in downtown Los Angeles.
This is the dirty little secret of the Los Angeles effort to bring the NFL back to the city.
It doesn't matter who owns AEG. It doesn't matter if a stadium is built in downtown Los Angeles, at Dodger Stadium, or out at what Ed Roski is now calling Grand Crossing in the City of Industry.
It also doesn't matter what the NFL staff wants and recommends.
It all comes down to the 32 owners and whether they want to let someone new join their club.
Over the years, they have been reluctant to look at expansion, which would dilute how much each team now receives. And there has been no eagerness to transfer a franchise to Los Angeles, where a new media monster could be created.
In the meantime, for AEG Chairman Philip Anschutz, the clock is ticking to make a deal. The city's deal to float bonds as part of the Convention Center plans expires in October 2014. After that, the City Council would have to give new authorization to the deal.
(Rick Orlov covers City Hall for the dailynews.com. where this column first appeared. His Tipoff column appears Mondays. For a daily political fix, go to the Sausage Factory at insidesocal.com/politics. You can contact him at [email protected] ) –cw
CityWatch
Vol 11 Issue 24
Pub: Mar 22, 2013
