Taylor Ford 21 October 2015
Bringing the NFL to Los Angeles: A Comparison to Atlantic Yards
In class we were exposed to the Atlantic Yards development in Brooklyn a borough of New York City. This paper will compare Atlantic Yards to Los Angeles Stadium plan. Major League sports teams fuel growth and development in our country's major cities. The changing sports landscape can be due to replacement of failing stadium infrastructure or the need of a new stadium to house a major league team that is new to the city. In the case of Atlantic Yards, Barclay Center allowed for a larger development that is closer in proximity to the city and is the home stadium for the Brooklyn Nets and New York Islanders. The development of Los Angeles Stadium is fueled by the desire to bring the National Football League back to the City of Angels.
The movie “Brooklyn Matters” showed that developer Bruce Ratner and minority owner of the Brooklyn Nets looked to put in a large-scale development in the borough. This development would include a stadium (for the local NBA and NHL teams), a shopping mall, offices and housing (mostly luxury, with some moderate and low income). Such plan for the neighborhood would drastically change the landscape and would displace many citizens. The local community was divided in support of such a development. Some citizens felt it would bring jobs and greater opportunity to the neighborhood. While others felt that too much moderate and low-income housing would be taken and would not be sufficiently replaced in the new development. There was also a concern in the neighborhood for the use of eminent domain; certain individuals were concerned that evictions and house removal were not within the frame of law. The project was funded with both private and public money, the developers worked with the state of New York and the federal government to complete this project (“Brooklyn Matters”, 2007). Though there was pushback from members in the community the site was eventually developed and Barclay Center is now operational as a NBA and NHL arena within the Atlantic Yards development.
Ed Roski, part owner of the Los Angeles Lakers and Kings, is pushing for the development of a National Football League stadium just outside the city in Industry, California. Roski and his development team, Majestic Realty Group are looking to move a current NFL to back to Los Angeles rather than rely on NFL expansion. This development would be located outside the urban center and would allow for access to 15.5 million people within a 20-mile radius of the stadium. The site includes mixed-use sites including entertainment and retail locations. Such a plan would drastically change the landscape of the neighborhood economically; it could bring in an estimated $400 million per year to the surrounding neighborhood. Over a 120 organizations, elected officials, local cities, counties and leaders have endorsed the Los Angeles Stadium plan. Roski has said the construction of such a site would be privately funded (Los Angeles Stadium, 2010), but those who oppose the building of the site believe that it will also take some public funds to complete the project. There is also a concern that a NFL team in Los Angeles would overcrowd the market as the Oakland Raiders and San Diego Charger due to the proposed stadium in Carson a neighboring county of the bustling metropolis (Belson, 2015). This development would bring the NFL back the Greater Los Angeles Area, bringing football to the 2nd largest metropolitan area and largest media market in the United States.
When comparing these two developments the key differences are land use, funding and team access. In Los Angeles the site will be home to the Los Angeles Stadium as well as other entertainment retail locations. In Brooklyn the site included Barclays Center as well as entertainment, retail and housing locations. Ed Roski and his development partners would fund Los Angeles Stadium complex, while Atlantic Yards was funded by a combination of government funding and private funding. Sports development is fueled by the location of major league teams, Brooklyn is home to the Nets and brought the Islanders in from Long Island, in comparison the Los Angeles’ stadium would only be built if the NFL committed to bringing a team to the city. It seems as though all the plans are in place to bring football back to the City of Angels, now the decision lies with the NFL.
Works Cited
Belson, Ken. “In Los Angeles, Stadiums Battle Heats Up.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 2015.
Brooklyn Matters. Dir. Isabel Hill. Ed. Marian Sears Hunter. New Day Films, 2007. DVD.
Los Angeles Stadium. “We Support Grand Crossing.” Los Angeles Football Stadium at Grand Crossing. Los Angeles Stadium, 2010.