Mayor's Message
Historic day on Thursday November 17th, 2016. The Groundbreaking for the excavation of the bowl of the largest and most expensive arena in the world took place at the former Hollywood Park Racetrack site. By the fall of 2019, it will be the home to the Rams and very likely a second NFL team, most likely the Chargers. In 2021 Superbowl LV (55) will be played in Inglewood. Inglewood was highlighted on NBC News Conference on Sunday November 20th. A clip is included of that interview in this newsletter below.
Recently, the Los Angeles Lakers organization awarded Inglewood an $80,000 grant to resurface basketball courts at both Darby and Rogers Parks. On behalf of the City and the children of Inglewood, I want to give big thank you to the Laker organization and the Buss family for their investment in the youth of our City.
|
|
Rams break ground on ritzy
Inglewood stadium
|
|
|
NFL COMMISSIONER Roger Goodell (left) picked up a shovel and joined Rams owner Stan Kroenke (center) in sunglasses and Inglewood Mayor James Butts at Thursday's groundbreaking
|
|
 Inglewood hopes new NFL stadium for Rams will spur community renaissance
Tony Parker beamed from behind the thick bulletproof window separating him from customers at his Forum liquor store on Prairie Avenue in Inglewood.
Asked about construction across the street on the new NFL stadium that will be home to the Los Angeles Rams, Parker didn't mince words: "I like it. The future is bright."
City officials and civic leaders hope Parker is right. But beyond the money that will roll in from taxes generated by the new NFL palace when it opens in 2019 and the massive adjacent development, it's still unclear what it all means for Inglewood itself.
The self-proclaimed "City of Champions" was devastated when the Los Angeles Lakers and Kings abandoned the Fabulous Forum in 1999 and a megachurch bought the aging arena, ultimately leaving it mostly unused. Then the
once-heralded Hollywood Park Racetrack closed in 2013 amid sagging attendance, a metaphor for a community that seemed to have lost its luster.
|
|
From December 5th through December 11th,
we want Southern Californians to ride with Uber
and enter the promo code "SU2C" into their Uber app.
For every ride taken with our promo code, Uber will donate a $15 ride for a cancer patient
|
|
Chargers talking to L.A. Coliseum
about playing there in 2017
If you thought the playing surface looked a little rough with both USC and the Rams playing there in 2016, it could get a lot rougher in 2017.
Brent Schrotenboer of USA Today explains that the Chargers are talking to the L.A. Coliseum Commission about playing there next season.
"In light of the vote of the people of San Diego,
it's back on the table in earnest," L.A. Coliseum Commission President Mark Ridley-Thomas said, via Schrotenboer. "So the appropriate amount of due diligence continues to be done, and we will see if in fact we can strike a deal."
|
 Chargers and Rams continue to make headway on stadium deal in L.A.
With the
Chargers out of stadium options in San Diego and now less than two months away from a window to execute an option to join the
Rams in Los Angeles, ownership remains in close contact with Rams owner Stan Kroenke regarding a potential move. The tenor of those conversations has continued to improve, according to league sources, as Chargers owner Dean Spanos explores options in the L.A. market.
There remains a strong chance the Chargers' relocation fee to move to Los Angeles decreases before a final deal is struck, sources said, and Kroenke is uniquely motivated to move the process along. The Rams cannot begin to sell personal seat licenses and suite deals until he has closure on whether it's the Chargers or
Raidersjoining him, and he is eager to get those sales started to help fund the massive financial undertaking of constructing his new stadium in Inglewood. Spanos could conceivably ask for an extension of his window to move -- which would have repercussions on the Rams -- and Spanos has more leverage in this matter than many believe.
The Chargers continue to investigate possibly playing games in 2017 and 2018 in the StubHub Center in Carson, California, as well, sources said, as the Inglewood project would not be complete until 2019. They would need a temporary home, and while the attendance in that facility is not nearly as big as the
NFL norm, the location appeals to the Chargers brass and the intimate setting would be unique as well. It is viewed by some in the organization as a superior alternative to being the third tenant in the Los Angeles Coliseum, behind the Rams and Southern California.
|
Last week, Rams owner Stan Kroenke broke ground on the most ambitious and expensive stadium project in the history of the NFL.
The recently released renderings of the project are as impressive as you'd imagine.
The Los Angeles Stadium and Entertainment District at Hollywood Park is set to encompass nearly 300 acres in Inglewood - just east of LAX and southwest of downtown Los Angeles.
In other words, it will be as accessible for travelers and tourists as just about any destination or location in all of Los Angeles.
That's why Kroenke's Tomorrowland-esque vision for the future home of his Rams is not just another shiny new stadium. Rather, it's a self-sustaining metropolis that happens to feature a shiny new stadium.
Of course, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell - who was on site to help Kroenke celebrate breaking ground on the project - was very enthusiastic about the Rams' plans to build more than just a new place to watch the NFL and Beyoncé concerts (
via The Daily Breeze):
"We are confident this is going to be the place to be in 2019 and beyond - not just for football but for entertainment, for events, for eating, for living, for working. That's what's going to come to Inglewood and the Hollywood Park area."
Curious as to what the centerpiece of Inglewood will look like in a few short years? Prepare to be amazed.
|
|
San Bernardino reaches fourth bankruptcy anniversary, but end in sight
One of the nation's longest municipal bankruptcies begins its fifth year on Monday And it's probably its last, officials say.
San Bernardino
filed for bankruptcy protection Aug. 1, 2012, swamped by a deficit of more than $45 million - equivalent to 40 percent of the $112 million in revenues the city expects
this year - and fearing it wouldn't be able to make payroll unless a bankruptcy judge stopped creditors from collecting their debts.
That protection isn't cheap: From 2012 until May 2016, the city spent $18.8 million on bankruptcy-related expenses - attorneys and consultants - according to one of those consultants, Teri Cable of Management Partners.
|
|
Paying for public retirees has never cost L.A. taxpayers more. And that's after pension reform
Los Angeles officials often boast about how they stemmed the rising cost of employee pensions, an expense that has hobbled cash-strapped cities throughout California.
Former Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said changes he oversaw in 2011 and 2012, which included lower pensions for new employees and higher retirement contributions from city workers, were "the most far-reaching effort in the nation." Mayor Eric Garcetti echoed that assertion this year, saying L.A. had "done the most pension reform in the country of any big city."
Yet the numbers tell a story jarringly at odds with the political rhetoric, a Times analysis found. Today, Los Angeles taxpayers are underwriting retirement benefits that are among the nation's most generous - at a cost that has never been higher.
|
|
|
|
|
If you would like to be included on this distribution list to receive
newsletters
and
special community bulletins, please fill out the quick form found HERE
.
|
|
|
|
