City of Champions Stadium

City of Champions Stadium

Location	Inglewood, California, USA
Coordinates	33°57′1.61″N 118°20′16.11″W / 33.9504472°N 118.3378083°W / 33.9504472; -118.3378083Coordinates: 33°57′1.61″N 118°20′16.11″W / 33.9504472°N 118.3378083°W / 33.9504472; -118.3378083,
Owner	Stockbridge Capital Stan Kroenke
Capacity	80,000
Construction
Broke ground	December 2015 (planned)
Construction cost	US$1.8 billion (estimated)

The City of Champions Revitilization Initiative is the working title of the development on the site of the former Hollywood Park Racetrack. On January 5, 2015, it was announced that Stan Kroenke, the owner of the St. Louis Rams had partnered with Stockbridge Capital (owners of the Hollywood Park Land Company), to build an NFL-quality stadium in the city of Inglewood on the existing Hollywood Park development and on a parcel of land owned by Kroenke.^[1][2] As of April 2015, the stadium itself does not yet have a specific name, and is always included as part of the City of Champions Initiative. After collecting more than 20,000 petition signatures to allow for the rezoning of the proposed stadium site to allow for an NFL-quality venue, the Inglewood City Council approved the initiative with a unanimous 5–0 vote removing any possible legal obstacles clearing the way for the developers to break ground in December 2015.^[3][4][5]

History

Hollywood Park Racetrack

Hollywood Park, later sold and referred to as Betfair Hollywood Park, was a thoroughbred race course until it was shut down for racing and training in December 2013. The casino still remains open, containing a poker card room located in Inglewood, California, about three miles (5 km) from Los Angeles International Airport and adjacent to the Forum. After closing, the racetrack was to be developed by the Hollywood Park Land Company (a subsidiary of Stockbridge Capital) into a mixed-use residential and commercial site while the casino would remain relatively untouched.

Tenants

It's currently undetermined which NFL team would play in the stadium but it's expected that the St. Louis Rams (which Kroenke owns) will play in that stadium along with either The Oakland Raiders or The San Diego Chargers. It should be noted that any team moving to LA needs to have 24 of the 32 owners (The Green Bay Packers are owned by Shareholders) approve any type of move. In addition to NFL games, the stadium could host the Final Four, World Cup, Olympics, Super Bowl, WrestleMania, concerts among others.

It's important to note that to date there are no teams or events committed to being a tenant.

Revised Plan

In early 2014, news sources in Southern California began to report that Stan Kroenke, owner of the St. Louis Rams purchased a 60 acre parcel of land just north of the Hollywood Park site in an area that had been studied by the National Football League in the past.^[6] This set off immediate speculation as to what Kroenke's intentions were for the site: it was originally planned to be a Wal-Mart Supercenter, however, in 2014, most of the speculation centered around the site as possible stadium site or training facility for the Rams.^[7] Commissioner Roger Goodell represented that Mr. Kroenke informed the league of the purchase. As an NFL owner, any purchase of land in which a potential stadium could be built must be disclosed to the league. Speculation about the Rams returning to their home of nearly fifty years had already been discussed when Kroenke was one of the finalists in bidding for ownership in the Los Angeles Dodgers, but speculation reached a fever pitch as soon as the news broke that the Rams owner had a possible stadium site in hand.^[8][9]

Nearly a year went by without a word from Kroenke about his intentions for the land, or the Hollywood Land Company about what the site may be used for. There was, however, ceaseless speculation about the future of the Rams franchise until it was leaked that the National Football League would not be allowing any franchise relocation for the 2015 season.^[10] On January 5, 2015, the Hollywood Park Land Company announced that it had partnered with Kroenke Sports & Entertainment to add the northern 60 acre parcel to the rest of the development project and build a multi-purpose 80,000 seat stadium designed for the NFL.^[11][12] The project will include the stadium of up to 80,000 seats and a performance venue of up to 6,000 seats while reconfiguring the previously approved Hollywood Park plan for up to 890,000 square feet of retail, 780,000 square feet of office space, 2,500 new residential units, a 300-room hotel and 25 acres of public parks, playgrounds, open space and pedestrian and bicycle access. The stadium would likely be ready by 2018. On February 24, 2015, the Inglewood City Council approved the stadium plan and the initiative with construction on the stadium planned to begin on December 2015. ^[13][14]

Current Status

On February 24, 2015, the Inglewood City Council approved plans with a 5–0 unanimous vote to combine the 60 acre plot of land with the larger Hollywood Park development and rezone the area to include Sports/Entertainment capabilities. This essentially cleared the way for developers to begin construction on the venue as planned in December 2015.^[15][16][17]

It was also reported in early February 2015, that "earth was being moved" and the site was being graded to be prepared for the construction that would being later in the year.^[18] On March 12, 2015, numerous sources reported that a labor group sought to force a public vote for this stadium by either repelling the approved vote or holding a special election in August or September 2015. On March 26, 2015, labor leaders and the developers announced that they had reached a deal on having union workers work on the stadium.

See also

• Hollywood Park Racetrack
• History of the Los Angeles Rams
• History of the National Football League in Los Angeles

References