Report: L.A. stadium developers seek $100 million tax reimbursement
The developers who want to build a sports complex in a Los Angeles suburb want up to $100 million in reimbursements in local tax dollars in the first five years of operation, according to a review by the Associated Press.
The centerpiece of the complex would be an 80,000-seat domed NFL stadium, accompanying a 6,000-seat performance venue and retail, office, hotel and residential space next to the Hollywood Park site in Inglewood, California.
Christopher Meany, a senior executive with the Hollywood Park Land Co., says “there will be no public dollars, no taxpayer dollars, used for this project."
Meany has said that the complex is in a perfect location due to its proximity to freeways, the Los Angeles International Airport and The Forum.
But Chicago-based sports finance consultant Marc Ganis called that theory “hyper-spin.”
"It's not an outright lie ... but there will be people who think it is," Ganis said. "They might be prospective tax dollars, and it might make sense for Inglewood to contribute them to the project, but they are tax dollars."
Officials in Inglewood say if the annual tax revenue goes over $25 million, developers of the project would be entitled to hefty recoupments for money they invested in public works projects such as street construction, sewers and parks.
St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke bought 238 acres of land and teamed up Stockbridge Capital Group with the idea of possibly relocating the NFL franchise out west. The team is not happy with the outdated Edward Jones Dome, which opened in 1995.
Los Angeles is the nation’s second largest television market and has not had an NFL franchise in the area since the Rams and Raiders bolted town after the 1994 season. The earliest a franchise could be put in place in Los Angeles would be the 2016 season.
- Scooby Axson
