The Los Angeles Rams, a name NFL fans have not heard in over 20 years. With the 2016 season underway the once, St. Louis Rams, are back where they started, in Los Angeles. However, one question remains, what stadium will the Rams call home? It appears the Rams will initially play at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. But ultimately, they will move to a new privately funded 70,000-seat stadium in Inglewood that will be built on the 298-acre site of the former Hollywood Park race track. The stadium is expected to be up and running in time for the 2019 football season.
Rams owner Stan Kroenke teamed up with Stockbridge Capital Group to craft the stadium plan, which includes the option of housing a second team. The plan includes a one-year option for the San Diego Chargers to join as the second team in Los Angeles. With a retractable roof, the stadium will be capable of expanding to 80,000 seats for special events, and it will be part of a massive entertainment, retail and residential complex.
The project will include 890,000 square feet of retail space, 780,000 square feet for office use, 2,500 residential units, a 6,000-square-foot performing arts center and a 300-room hotel. The entire project is said to create a total of 40,000 jobs counting construction and ongoing operations and its estimated cost is approximately $1.86 billion. However, most economists believe that the whole project will cost closer to $3 billion.”
What will this new stadium mean for the economy of the Los Angeles area? A development manager with Hollywood Park Land, said the project will conservatively generate “tens of millions of dollars in annual revenue” for the city. This revenue will come from a ticket tax, sales-tax revenue from the project’s retail operations, property taxes and a hotel occupancy tax. Furthermore, the director of the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate, stated that the project could also boost surrounding property values, both commercial and residential.
With everything seeming to be on the up and up in Los Angeles, one can only wonder if this new stadium is too good to be true.