LOS ANGELES-Plans to build a $450 million, 64,000 seat stadium on 20 acres in the South Park neighborhood of Downtown Los Angeles were announced last week. A business group headed by Denver billionaire Philip Anschutz, including supermarket mogul Ron Burkle and developers Tim Leiweke, Casey Wasserman and Ed Roski have Mayor Hahn's endorsement to build the pro-football stadium close to the successful Staples Center.

Last Thursday Mayor James K. Hahn held a news conference at the Staples Center with the three private developers and expressed his support. Los Angeles has no National Football League presence after losing both the Rams and the Raiders. The mayor says he is “excited about bringing the NFL back to Los Angeles,” but added that he does not want the city to foot the bill for the development.

To acquire the 20 acres of Downtown Los Angeles land to develop the stadium, officials of the Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) will ask the city to issue bonds of up to $100. The owners would repay the bonds over time, according to AEG, responsible for developing Staples Center on a similar financial plan.