Whetting the appetites of Los Angeles sports fans, AEG’s top executive said Thursday the company’s proposed downtown football stadium and events center could field an NFL team starting in the fall of 2015 and host the 50th Super Bowl at the end of that season. Tim Leiweke, CEO and president of the company that owns Staples Center and L.A. Live, said he would expect the new facility to host three Super Bowls and two college basketball Final Fours in its first 10 years and be suitable to hold the World Cup final if the United States secures the 2022 soccer tournament. Those were among details Leiweke spelled out in a luncheon speech and Q&A session in front of members of the L.A. organization Town Hall a week after he first went public with the concept in a talk to San Fernando Valley business leaders. Leiweke said the facility could be completed without public funding and would help spark the city’s economy by hosting about 50 events a year. “I can go through (a list of) cities, some of which were dead, until either a baseball stadium or football stadium or arena was built,†Leiweke said. “You can use these facilities to change economies, change development, change the reputation of a city. “If there was ever a city that needed a shot in the arm, it’s L.A.†Source: LA Daily News
It's been nearly 20 years since the Super Bowl was in the L.A. area. Our first Super Bowl win was historic...over 100,000 in attendance at the Rose Bowl in Super Bowl 21. The NFL needs to return to L.A. in some form....even if it's just hosting Super Bowls. Been too long since the game was held there.
I've heard grumblings here and there that a stadium in the Orange County area would actually do better than a stadium in downtown LA. I'm not that familiar with the scene out there...
