Venue News: AEG Pushes Back Against L.A. Stadium Proposals in Inglewood, Carson

Not long ago, AEG was the front-runner in the race to return a National Football League team to the region with the Farmers Field project in downtown Los Angeles. Now, writes the Los Angeles Times, it lags behind rival proposals in Inglewood and Carson, both of which, unlike Farmers Field, have the backing of an NFL owner. AEG is pushing back…

…The St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes that, less than a week after a report warned that Stan Kroenke’s proposed stadium in Inglewood, CA, would be vulnerable to terrorists because of its proximity to Los Angeles International Airport, another report was made public Tuesday regarding overall safety concerns of having the stadium built so close to flight paths into that airport. The reports have one thing in common: they were commissioned by AEG, the sports and entertainment firm trying to get an NFL stadium built in downtown Los Angeles, and thus a rival of the Inglewood plan put together by Rams owner Kroenke…

…By month’s end, Calgarians should know where the Calgary Flames want to build their next arena and how they hope to pay for it — a proposal CEO Ken King has been devising since at least 2007, according to the Calgary Herald. Mayor Naheed Nenshi’s office has confirmed King will give him a sneak preview within the next two weeks, before he finally unveils to the public the team’s vision for a new downtown complex to replace the Saddledome. Depending on what sort of government financial assistance Flames owners are seeking, this announcement stands to thrust Calgary into years of public debate, if Edmonton’s arena saga is any guide…

…The Arizona State athletic department released a new image Tuesday of what Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe will look like once all the renovations are complete. The Arizona Board of Regents approved the school’s construction budget for the stadium in August 2014, Sun Devil Athletics said. The first phase of the construction involves new student sections in the north and south end zones, which would make the venue unlike any stadium in the Pac-12. The upper deck of the northeast end zone will also be demolished during the first phase, which has an anticipated August 2015 completion date…

…Recent discussion of how San Diego can pay for a new Chargers stadium has shifted away from traditional tax increases, which need approval from two-thirds of voters, toward different approaches that wouldn’t face that daunting requirement, writes the San Diego Union-Tribune. They include using a new state economic development tool called an “infrastructure district,” borrowing against new revenues that a modern stadium would create, and getting a large loan from the county that would be paid back later with taxes from development near the stadium.