Dive Brief:
- The Los Angeles City Council has approved the Los Angeles Football Club’s proposal for a privately funded, $250 million, 15-acre stadium complex, The Los Angeles Times reported.
- PCL Construction will serve as general contractor for the Gensler-designed, 22,000-seat stadium, which will feature a semi-transparent canopy, restaurants, retail, office and conference space, jumbo video scoreboards and a soccer museum.
- The stadium, which will be situated next to the Coliseum and replace the Los Angeles Sports Arena, is the most expensive "soccer-specific" project in Major League Soccer history, The Times reported, and should be complete in time for the 2018 MLS season.
Dive Insight:
Club officials said they chose the Exposition Park area near the Coliseum largely due to the fact that is well-served by mass transit. While it is financed with private money, officials said there are some aspects of the project, like infrastructure and environmental abatement and remediation, that could qualify for some local government allowances or concessions.
The project will produce more than 1,200 new jobs during construction, which will inject $274 million into the local economy, according to the LAFC. When complete, the stadium will provide 1,800 permanent jobs and $128 million in economic benefit to the community. Stadium officials said they have entered into a project labor agreement with the Los Angeles and Orange County Building & Construction Trades Council, so union labor is included in the building of the complex.
Meanwhile, construction crews broke ground last month on D.C. United's $300 million, 20,000-seat waterfront stadium, also scheduled for opening in time for the 2018 MLB season. Washington, DC, Deputy Mayor Brian Kenner told the Washington Business Journal that the stadium construction and operation should bring approximately $1 billion in economic benefits to the area. However, there are critics who worry that construction will negatively impact the surrounding neighborhood.
