The LA City Council has agreed to shorten the public review period for the Downtown NFL stadium/Convention Center project agreement, from 24 days down to 10 days, "in order to complete the process in time for the National Football League to make its decision [on sending a team to LA] next March," reports the Daily News. While the agreement for the project (which includes the Farmers Field NFL stadium and a new West Hall for the Convention Center) is set to go before the Council at the end of this month, they say they'll need the intervening months to get past legal challenges (which have also been expedited for the project, per a state law). Councilmembers also argue that the plan's had plenty of scrutiny at this point. The City Planning Commission will be the first to take up the matter, this Thursday (for which the public had the full 24 days notice). Meanwhile, the development agreement has revealed that the cost estimates for the Convention Center were way off.
The Daily News also reports that the development agreement reveals that "The cost of building a new hall for the Los Angeles Convention Center in downtown was 'substantially understated' last year," like by $40 million. According to the LA Times, the cost jumped "from $275 million to nearly $315 million after city officials added an acre-sized ballroom, a new security system and improvements linking the building with a nearby outdoor plaza." Both papers have more on the specifics of the development agreement, which requires that the city issue up to $391 million in bonds.
· Proposed NFL stadium in downtown Los Angeles put on fast track [LADN]
· UPDATE: In L.A. NFL stadium plans, cost to build new Convention Center hall was 'substantially understated,' financial analyst says [LADN]
· Cost of L.A. Convention Center wing jumps $40 million [LAT]
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