Venue News: Leiweke Could Have L.A. Stadium Ready for 2016 Super Bowl

AEG’s Tim Leiweke, who heads a group looking to build an NFL stadium next to Staples Center in Los Angeles, said the project could be completed in time to host the 50th Super Bowl. in February 2016. Leiweke said his group would ask the NFL to waive its traditional requirement that a venue be open for at least a year before being eligible to host its marquee event. He said that, if all goes as planned, a privately financed, $1 billion L.A. stadium could be ready for the 2015 season…

…The cost of a proposed new stadium for the Winnipeg, MB, Blue Bombers has ballooned to more than $160 million from $115 million, according to a source close to the deal. An updated budget was presented this week to the stakeholders in the deal. However, the new numbers and details have not yet been formally presented to Winnipeg Mayor Sam Katz and Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger. The source said the new total includes all the amenities called for in the original proposal, including a sunken playing field, a noise-reducing canopy to cover the stands, and an inflatable dome to cover the field in winter so university teams can use it during the CFL off-season…

…London Mayor Boris Johnson helped break ground on a spiral tower to be built next to the 2012 Olympic Stadium. Work began on the 337-ft. ArcelorMittal Orbit this week. Johnson said the tower will be an attraction to draw people to the Olympic Park after the 2012 Games are over. He said businesses will be attracted to the park, which Prime Minister David Cameron wants to rival California’s Silicon Valley as a home for leading technology companies…

…Backers of a proposed sports arena on the Las Vegas Strip said they have enough signatures to take the matter to the 2011 Nevada legislature or to put it to voters the following year. Former Clark County Commissioner Bruce Woodbury said organizers collected more than 200,000 signatures statewide from voters in each of Nevada’s three congressional districts, more than twice the number needed. The deadline for initiative petitions to be submitted to the secretary of state’s office comes up this week. If enough signatures are verified, the matter would go to the legislature when it convenes in February. If lawmakers reject it or fail to act, it would automatically be placed on the 2012 general-election ballot.