LOS ANGELES, July 26 (UPI) -- Los Angeles officials say the developer of a proposed downtown NFL stadium project must absorb a greater share of the costs and risks.
The officials announced their financing plan for the stadium and new $275 million wing of the city Convention Center, saying it would protect taxpayers by requiring developer Anschutz Entertainment Group to shoulder $80 million of the cost, the Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday.
Rebuilding part of the Convention Center, a central part of the stadium deal, would be paid for with $195 million in city bonds, a proposed agreement released by negotiators for Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the City Council said.
A further $80 million in city-issued bonds would be the responsibility of AEG, which hopes to open its $1 billion stadium by 2016, a report on the proposed agreement said.
"Those bonds are not on the city's books, so the developer is 100 percent on the hook for that," City Administrative Officer Miguel Santana said.
That bond debt would be repaid by tax income from two existing AEG developments next to the stadium site, the Staples Center and the L.A. Live entertainment complex.
If AEG defaults on the bond payments, the city could foreclose on L.A. Live, said Chief Legislative Analyst Gerry Miller said.
