Gov. Brown to sign LA stadium bill

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 26 (UPI) -- California Gov. Jerry Brown will sign a bill that would smooth the way for construction of an NFL stadium in downtown Los Angeles, officials said.

A signing ceremony is set for Tuesday at the Los Angeles Convention Center, which also would get new facilities as part of the stadium project proposed by the Anschutz Entertainment Group, the Los Angeles Times reported.

AEG plans to spend $1.2 billion to build a 72,000-seat football stadium to be named Farmers Field.

The bill to be signed by Brown will require any environmental lawsuit challenging the stadium project to be filed with the state Court of Appeal and be decided within 175 days.

AEG, which sponsored the bill, said the legislation would protect the project from protracted litigation, reassuring investors and the NFL the project will not face years of delay.

Environmentalists have denounced the bill as giving special treatment to one developer to skirt laws intended to protect Californians from unreasonable traffic, air pollution and other environmental problems, the Times reported.