Staples Called a Plus for Vicinity

The city controller released a report Monday that showed Staples Center has had a positive impact on businesses in its South Park neighborhood since it opened four years ago and is generating more than $3 million a year for the city.

That’s a triumph, officials said, given that many cities across the country have built sports arenas that have wound up costing taxpayers money.

City officials immediately sought to use the news as an occasion to push for bringing professional football to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, even though National Football League officials have shown little interest in the site near downtown.

City Controller Laura Chick held a news conference to release her report at the Coliseum rather than at Staples. And she was flanked by Councilman Bernard Parks and Democratic Assemblyman Mark Ridley-Thomas, both of whom represent the Coliseum area and are determined to bring the NFL back to the stadium. Councilwoman Jan Perry, who represents South Park, was not invited.

Staples was built by the Anschutz Entertainment Group after years of intense negotiations that had to overcome strong resistance in City Hall to giving taxpayer money to private developers.

Ultimately, Los Angeles city officials agreed to issue $58 million in bonds for the project, which developers have promised to repay. The city’s Community Redevelopment Agency also gave $12 million, which did not have to be repaid.

Four years later, the deal appears to be paying off for the city. According to an analysis prepared by Robert A. Baade, a professor at Lake Forest College in Illinois, over the next 25 years, Staples Center will send an estimated $49 million into city coffers.

That includes about $3.4 million in property tax revenue each year, along with rising sales tax income estimated at more than $700,000 this year. The revenue is partly offset by added costs to the city for security, transportation and sanitation.

The South Park neighborhood is also benefiting, according to the report, particularly upscale restaurants, parking facilities and some downtown hotels. What’s more, business owners believe the arena has improved the ambience and safety in the area.

Officials at Staples said they are pleased as well. Michael Roth, director of communications for Anschutz Entertainment, said Monday that the development “has proven to be a very good investment for AEG, as well as a tremendous resource for the city of Los Angeles.” He said the arena promises to continue to be a catalyst for further development.

“When done right, large projects like sports stadiums can be potent economic engines, generating new revenues for city coffers, putting people to work and revitalizing neighborhoods,” Chick said in a statement.

Chick said the Staples experience has convinced her that the city could structure a similar deal to pay for the $400-million renovation to make the Coliseum ready for pro football.

She emphasized that any money should be in the form of a loan that would be paid back, and not a gift.

Parks said he believed the report on Staples should help persuade the Coliseum Commission, the City Council and football officials that they can come up with a deal that benefits everyone.

NFL officials had no comment on the economic report. But Ridley-Thomas said the NFL “has a voracious appetite to be shown the money.... Los Angeles will become immensely attractive once we show them the deal.”