NFL stadium plan for downtown L.A. on council agenda

The plan to lure a $1.2-billion NFL stadium to downtown Los Angeles is scheduled to make a big leap forward Tuesday with the City Council expected to vote for the overall framework for financing the project.

The council is scheduled to approve a nonbinding agreement with stadium developer Anschutz Entertainment Group that would allow for demolition and relocation of a section of the Los Angeles Convention Center. That, in turn, would make room for a 72,000-seat stadium just south of Staples Center, which would open in 2016 with the planned name of Farmers Field.

The city plans to issue $275 million in bonds to pay for the new convention center wing. Councilwoman Jan Perry, whose district includes the stadium site, said in a letter to Council President Eric Garcetti on Monday that up to 49% of the new revenue generated by the two projects -- taxes and lease revenue -- would be used to pay off that debt.

"I believe we have been afforded the time and the information needed to feel comfortable with the basic parameters of the project," she wrote.

Approval of the stadium plan would kick off nine months of intensive negotiations with AEG, which has promised to pay for the new stadium and two parking garages on its own dime. And it would allow city planners to press ahead with preparation of an environmental impact report on the project, which would assess such issues as traffic, noise and glare in nearby neighborhoods.

City Administrative Officer Miguel Santana said a vote in favor of the tentative agreement would tell the council's negotiators that they are heading in the right direction. "It also signals to AEG that, in fact, we're serious about this, and they can begin their process and ... put their funding together," said Santana, the city's top budget official.