Greater Los Angeles Region: Projects and Developments

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NFL panel meets with backers of Carson, Inglewood stadium proposals

The NFL's committee on Los Angeles opportunities met at league headquarters in New York on Wednesday and heard updated presentations from backers of stadium proposals in Carson and Inglewood.

In attendance at the meeting were the owners on the committee, headed by Art Rooney II of the Pittsburgh Steelers, as well as NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and several of the league's other top executives.

It was the first time the committee heard from Carmen Policy, who is representing both the San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders, serving as one voice for the Carson concept.

"We as a group felt the presentation went extremely well, and we got our entire message across," said Policy, who formerly was president of the San Francisco 49ers and later president and a minority owner of the Cleveland Browns. "We were able, maybe for the first time, to totally organize what we've been doing, what we've accomplished, and what we're going to continue to do, and why Carson is absolutely the site for a new stadium."

Policy said the two-team solution "is the right move for the league" in returning to the nation's No. 2 market, as long as those teams are on an equal footing.

"All the people who have evaluated these scenarios say that if you're going to have two teams in the market, you can't let one have an established base and start over the other," Policy said. "The league doesn't want a situation where you have an owner and a tenant. You don't want it the way it used to be for the Giants and Jets. Both teams have to have equal status in the building."

Meanwhile, St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke is touting his own stadium project on nearly 300 acres in Inglewood, on the site of the former Hollywood Park racetrack. Pending league approval — which could come by year's end — Kroenke intends to begin construction in December on a complex that includes a stadium, a performance-arts theater and a massive area of housing and retail space.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/nfl/la...611-story.html

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Chargers seem to hold little hope for San Diego stadium solution

In another indication of the impasse between the Chargers and the city of San Diego, the club released a statement Tuesday saying it does not believe a stadium initiative can be put on the ballot this year.

That means the Chargers hold little hope of staying in San Diego, at least according to the NFL's current timeline, and will continue to jointly pursue a Carson stadium with the Oakland Raiders.

The Chargers said they have had three formal meetings with the city -- the third taking place Tuesday -- and numerous informal conversations, but could not find a way to create a stadium ballot measure for December that complied with the California Environmental Quality Act and met election law requirements.

Said Mark Fabiani, Chargers special counsel: "The various options that we have explored with the city’s experts all lead to the same result: significant time-consuming litigation founded on multiple legal challenges, followed by a high risk of eventual defeat in the courts."

“It appears the Chargers have pulled the plug on San Diego even though the city and county have gone out of their way to try and accommodate the team,” said Tony Manolatos, spokesman for the San Diego mayor’s stadium task force. “Instead of working collaboratively on a solution, the Chargers have thrown up one road block after another.”

http://www.latimes.com/sports/sports...616-story.html

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New owners plan $30-million face lift for Promenade at Howard Hughes Center

Laurus Corp., a real estate development firm that acquires and improves commercial properties, said it plans a greater emphasis on food and entertainment along with a more pedestrian-friendly layout. The mall, completed in 2001, was designed to serve customers arriving by car, but thousands of people have recently moved to the area and could visit on foot, the new owners said.

The mall's new design, by Los Angeles architect the Jerde Partnership Inc., calls for more indoor-outdoor uses such as courtyards with landscaping. The installation of south-facing escalators and a new pedestrian crossing on Center Drive aims to make the mall easy to access by pedestrians.

The courtyard adjacent to the Cinemark theater complex will become the new center of the mall, with a new outdoor screening area and fire pit, as well as new restaurants, an outdoor dining area and casual lounge space. The team will also update the current Art Deco retail facades throughout the center to reflect a more modern aesthetic.

http://www.latimes.com/business/real...619-story.html

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At Southern California theme parks, some new twists on old rides

Six Flags Magic Mountain has reworked its historic wooden roller coaster with gut-churning twists and turns. Disneyland has enhanced its fireworks show, adding lasers and high-definition video projectors. Universal Studios Hollywood is slipping a 3-D racing feature into its famous studio tour.

Attendance at North America's 20 biggest parks rose an estimated 2.2% in 2014, but crowd totals jumped much higher at those that launched new attractions, according to the Los Angeles engineering firm Aecom.

Universal Studios Hollywood, for example, had an 11% attendance increase in 2014 compared with the previous year, Aecom estimated. The boost came from the opening of the "Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem" ride and a hugely popular "Halloween Horror Nights" event.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-f...620-story.html

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Triple Crown winner American Pharoah returns to California

ARCADIA, Calif. (AP) — Triple Crown winner American Pharoah returned home to Santa Anita in California and was greeted by a crowd of well-wishers, including Oscar-winning actress Julia Roberts.

Baffert says it’s great to have American Pharoah home after he became the first horse since 1978 to sweep the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont stakes.

American Pharoah will make a public appearance at the track on June 27 when he will be paraded.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports...rnia/28954981/

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New 'Furious' ride rocks a super start

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. — Vin Diesel gave Fast and Furious — Supercharged the highest compliment after the thrill ride's opening at Universal Studios Hollywood on Tuesday.

"Everyone around me was like, 'Can we do that again. Right now?'" Diesel told USA TODAY after stepping off the attraction with his three children. "That pretty much summed it up. Wow! Talk about amazing."

Diesel, along with franchise co-stars Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson and Furious 7 villain Jason Statham, were on hand for the Supercharged ceremony before the major attraction opens to the public Wednesday.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/m...esel/29187069/

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‘Fast & Furious - Supercharged’ ride opens at Universal Studios Hollywood

Universal Studios Hollywood unveils its new Fast & Furious Supercharged attraction during a press event at the Universal City theme park Tuesday, June 23, 2015. The attraction features cutting-edge, hyper-realistic special effects, including 3D-HD imagery projected onto the world’s most expansive 360-degree screens.

Russell added that “Supercharged” is also probably the world’s largest flight simulator. The hydraulic motion base that’s synchronized with the on-screen images (much of which was shot in high-resolution on the streets of L.A. and shown via 18 4K projectors) is an oil-pushed system that’s much more robust than the air-powered one beneath the “Kong” show.

http://www.dailynews.com/lifestyle/2...dios-hollywood

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NFL pursues plans for temporary venues in L.A. market for 2016 season

The NFL's search for a temporary Los Angeles stadium is officially underway.

The league on Thursday began issuing proposal requests to multiple venues in Southern California — among them the Coliseum and Rose Bowl — with the intent of securing a temporary home for a team (or teams) for the 2016 season in the event of a return to the market.

Chris Hardart, NFL vice president of corporate development, confirmed the process of issuing requests has begun, information first provided by an individual not authorized to speak publicly about it.

"It is part of the process and an effort to understand all of our options and have a well thought out plan if a team or teams were to be approved to relocate," said Hardart, who declined to identify sites other than the Coliseum and Rose Bowl that have received them. In the past, league executives have touted the viability of Dodger Stadium as a potential temporary venue.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/nfl/la...626-story.html

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Dodger Stadium, Angel Stadium among L.A. venue options
By Steve Wyche and Albert Breer NFL.com
Published: June 26, 2015 at 01:29 p.m.

In the latest development to signal an NFL team -- or teams -- relocating to Los Angeles, the league initiated on Thursday the process to secure temporary stadiums in Southern California while a permanent stadium in Inglewood or Carson gets built, per Chris Hardat, the NFL's vice president of corporate development. The development was first reported by the Los Angeles Times.

The known sites receiving requests were the Rose Bowl, in Pasadena, and the L.A. Coliseum, in downtown Los Angeles, but the league has also looked at other sites ahead of next year. Among those discussed have been Dodger Stadium, Angel Stadium of Anaheim and StubHub Center in Carson, according to a league source.

The league didn't put a deadline on proposals coming back, but it would like to have material to present to the owners on temporary sites for their special meeting on Los Angeles, set for August in Chicago. The goal is for the league to negotiate with sites in the coming months, and perhaps even select a site and have it ready for a team before a move is even announced, to get ahead of potential scheduling and logistical conflicts.

The proposals will be expected to have standard information on a stadium's assets (club seating, suites, etc.), scheduling constraints and rent.

Rams owner Stan Kroenke's proposed project in Inglewood is targeted to be done in 2018, and the Chargers/Raiders' joint project in Carson has a 2019 completion date. For now, though, the league is focused on what would work for the 2016 season alone, but that could be extended if needed.

Also, multiple venues could be needed if two teams relocate to Los Angeles. UCLA plays its games in the Rose Bowl; USC, the L.A. Coliseum. If two teams move to L.A., then having three teams play at one temporary site might not be feasible.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap300...-venue-options

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Warner Bros. expands backlot tour to get bigger share of tourism business

Warner Bros. is about to premiere a major expansion of its backlot tour in a bid to grab a larger share of Los Angeles' lucrative tourism business.

Inspired by the popularity of its Harry Potter studio tour near London, Warner Bros. has invested $13 million to build a new set of interactive attractions and exhibits on its Burbank backlot, culminating a project that began two years ago.

The newly named Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood, which debuts July 16, takes consumers behind the scenes of how movies and TV shows are made — from script to screen.

Once an afterthought, the two-hour studio tour has become a significant and increasingly fast-growing business for Warner Bros. The tour employs about 200 tour guides and support staff, up from a handful a decade ago.

More than 300,000 people visited the tour in 2014, double the level from three years ago, and generating nearly $30 million in gross revenue for the studio. The tour drew just 6,000 people a year when it began in 1973.

With the new attractions, Warner Bros. executives expect attendance to double again in the next three years.

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment...626-story.html

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Massive warehouse plan has Moreno Valley divided over jobs, environment

In the last few years, the warehouses have been popping up swiftly in Moreno Valley.

On the east side of town, the German grocer Aldi is building an 825,000-square-foot distribution facility. A 1.6-million-square-foot distribution facility for the footwear company Deckers Outdoor and other businesses is under construction across town. An Amazon fulfillment center totaling 1.25 million square feet opened last year.

But in the building boom that has seen a surge of warehouse construction in the Inland Empire since the recession, Iddo Benzeevi's proposed World Logistics Center dwarfs all other projects.

If his plan is approved, the developer could build more than 40 million square feet of warehouse space — enough to fit almost 700 football fields — on the eastern edge of Moreno Valley, on a vast stretch of Riverside County bounded by tract homes on one side and rugged hills on the other.

http://www.latimes.com/local/califor...628-story.html

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MURRIETA: Kaiser Permanente inks $9.3 million land deal
http://www.pe.com/articles/medical-7...er-center.html

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The Rose Bowl is bowing out of the competition to be the temporary home to an NFL team.

By a unanimous vote Wednesday night, the Rose Bowl Operating Co. decided not to respond to the NFL’s request for a proposal to be a temporary home to a franchise that could relocate to the Los Angeles market.

The Rose Bowl was one of five venues contacted by the league. The others are the Coliseum, Dodger Stadium, Angel Stadium and StubHub Center in Carson.

"An RFP [request for proposal] is not an indication that the NFL wants to come here," RBOC member Nicholas Rodriguez said. "It’s an indication of a bidding war."

RBOC members said they instead wanted to focus their attention on landing an annual music and arts festival sponsored by AEG.

"A music and arts festival is long term, financially superior, and more fitting with our brand," RBOC President Victor Gordo said.

There is still a possibility the Pasadena City Council could ask the RBOC to respond to the NFL’s proposal request.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/sports...708-story.html

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USC, which operates the Coliseum, confirmed Thursday it will submit a proposal to the NFL. But under the terms of USC's lease with the Coliseum Commission, the university can host only one team at the stadium on a temporary basis of up to four years.

"USC will be responding to the NFL's RFP [request for proposal] and we hope to welcome an NFL team into the Coliseum starting in the 2016 season," Todd Dickey, USC's senior vice president for administration, said in a written statement.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/nfl/la...710-story.html

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Temporary home for NFL team would be 'very difficult' at Angel Stadium

The NFL’s options for a temporary home in the Los Angeles area could be shrinking again.

Using Angel Stadium in such a capacity would be “very difficult” because of potential scheduling conflicts, a spokesman for the Angels said Thursday.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/sports...716-story.html

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Architect Frank Gehry is helping L.A. with its Los Angeles River master plan, but secrecy troubles some

Architect Frank Gehry is working with city officials to draft a new master plan for the redevelopment of the Los Angeles River, bringing the avant-garde sensibilities of one of the world's best-known artistic celebrities to the struggle to remake 51 miles of the Los Angeles Basin's largely desolate central waterway.

Gehry's designs for the flaring steel walls of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, and the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles have become icons of contemporary architecture. Since last year, he has been quietly at work on what officials describe as the beginnings of an overarching plan for the bridges, bike paths, walkways and other improvements intended to revive public use of the river as it winds from the San Fernando Valley to Long Beach.

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/l...807-story.html

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L.A. relocation could set up clash of titans among NFL owners

The presentations took place in private, with owners attending the one-day meeting without their typical entourage of executives. Most were unwilling to share more than the bare-bones facts of the pitches. The Chargers and Raiders presented for half an hour, with Carmen Policy — former president of the San Francisco 49ers and the Browns — doing most of the talking. He fielded three questions from the owners but said they appeared enthusiastic and attentive.

Policy said a Carson stadium "works for California, it certainly works for the Los Angeles market, and now it works for the two teams that are playing in the most dilapidated and terrible stadiums in the league. These facilities predated Candlestick Park in terms of facilitating football, and Candlestick today is rubble and dust."

He called a joint Chargers-Raiders stadium "a silver-bullet solution" for the "California dilemma."

"And you're not only curing the California dilemma, but you're curing it with California teams," Policy said. "These teams were born and bred in California. They've always been in California. They never left California."

Although his colleagues won't say it publicly, Spanos has the strongest backing of the three relocation-minded owners. The league is particularly interested in protecting him, in part because he has been the most thorough in searching for a stadium solution in his current market.

Many owners believe that Kroenke has the better location and stadium plan, and that could ultimately tip the scales in his favor, even if he's less popular among his peers than Spanos. The biggest issue in allowing Kroenke to relocate is St. Louis has done the most of the three home markets to hang onto its team. The NFL would be reluctant to leave public money on the table, particularly because that's so hard to come by in California.

Kroenke and Rams officials almost never speak publicly about their project, so top executive Kevin Demoff drew a large crowd of reporters and TV cameras for the most generic of statements.

"We made a presentation that we thought would help the owners better understand our project," said Demoff, revealing little more than that.

The Rams presentation lasted nearly twice as long as their competition's. Those in the room said the presentation pitched the Inglewood site as the "Los Angeles Entertainment Center," touched on a 6,000-seat theater complementing the stadium, and talked not just of sporting events that could take place there — including the NFL draft, scouting combine and Pro Bowl — but also potentially the Grammys, Academy Awards and Golden Globes.

Also discussed was the process for determining a relocation fee — although no potential amounts were mentioned — and the likelihood that the league will begin taking season-ticket deposits in L.A. even before any relocation decisions are made. By doing that, the league hopes to build a robust list of potential customers with the promise of returning those deposits, with interest, if no team moves or fans otherwise opt to cancel.

That will be more clear in October, when representatives from the cities of St. Louis and San Diego are expected to speak to the entire membership. At this point, Oakland is unlikely to be invited, because the league does not believe that city has put forth a serious proposal.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/nfl/la...12-column.html

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Chargers and Raiders scrub lightning bolts and flame from stadium design

http://www.latimes.com/sports/sports...817-story.html