Inglewood Approves New Football Stadium Hoping Rams Will Return

The city of Inglewood has fast-tracked the approval of a new NFL stadium. Late Tuesday night, the city council approved the plans to construct a new stadium that included Stan Kroenke the owner of the St. Louis Rams as a partner, which clears the path for an NFL team to return to Los Angeles for the first time in over two decades.

The plan of $2 billion was approved 5-0 by the council following a meeting of several hours with public comment and a number of Rams fans very vocal and wearing their old jerseys.

With just a small group of dissenters, the vast majority of the people making comments were very supportive of the new plan.

The council’s vote adopts a new plan for redevelopment without calling for a public vote, which effectively gave the construction a kick start and sidestepping a lengthy environment review for issues like air pollution, noise and traffic.

The plan adds the 60-acre stadium with 80,000 seats to a 2009 existing plan of redeveloping the former racetrack at Hollywood Park with offices, homes, stores, parks, a hotel and open spaces.

Kroenke is partner in the Hollywood Park and Land Co the development group promoting this project. However, a plan is also starting in St. Louis in hopes of maintaining the team there in a new stadium with 64,000 seats on the north riverfront of the city.

However, most believe that the Kroenke and the Rams will make the move even if legal obstacles or other issues arise.

Last week new urgency appeared for Inglewood with the announcement the San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders are planning to build a stadium to share in Carson if their current cities do not help financially to replace the aging stadiums they now play in. Another plan for a stadium is also alive in the  downtown Los Angeles area, but no team is attached to that.

Proponents of the stadium said the concept needed to be approved as quickly as possible in order to avoid the other development that has already begun. They want to start construction before the end of this year to have the stadium useable for the 2018 season.

A report dated February 20 to the Inglewood city manager of Inglewood showed that the stadium’s developer and not the public would cover the cost for the stadium construction and the plans will allow Inglewood to continue the long legacy it has of providing the area with sports at a world class level.