Contract to Build Subway Link Awarded : Transit: MCA Inc. wants subway station closer to Universal Studios. County officials say a redesign could delay the project.

Los Angeles County transportation officials Wednesday awarded a contract to build a subway line linking Universal City with North Hollywood, but the site of the Universal City station remains in question.

MCA Inc., the entertainment giant that owns Universal Studios, is pressing the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to relocate the proposed subway station to within walking distance of the amusement park.

But the $65-million contract awarded to San Francisco-based Obayashi Corp. calls for building the station about half a mile--downhill--from Universal Studios and CityWalk, the new promenade of restaurants and shops next to the park.

Some MTA members expressed concerns Wednesday that redesigning the 13-mile subway extension to meet MCA’s desires could delay or increase the cost of the project.

The MTA board ordered its staff to negotiate with MCA over the station’s location and report back within 60 days.

Jim Smart, an MTA spokesman, said the staff will recommend that MCA bear any additional costs if the station is relocated. The project relies, in part, on federal funds, and transit officials do not want to upset delicate funding agreements by adding to the cost of the line.

MCA officials could not be reached for comment late Wednesday. But in the past the company has hinted that it may attempt to influence the project through a unique power. Under a 10-year-old state law, MCA can withhold from MTA nearly $6 million in property assessment fees that the agency is depending on to build the Red Line station.

The law grants property owners the right to vote on whether to reject such assessments. As owner of 70% of the proposed assessment district around the station, MCA’s vote alone would swing the election.

Such assessment districts are created by the MTA, with the concurrence of the Los Angeles City Council and Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. In a related move Wednesday, the MTA board called on the supervisors and council to approve two such districts for the growing subway system.

The two districts, stretching from Hollywood to North Hollywood, include 2,444 assessable properties located within a half-mile walk of 11 Red Line stations.