Council Gives Final OK for Sports Arena

Construction on the new downtown basketball and hockey arena could begin in January, developers say, after a 12-1 Los Angeles City Council vote Tuesday approving final development agreements on the $300-million facility.

The council action, which came with little fanfare, paves the way for developers to secure financing and begin preliminary work on the project. The council vote, which covered environmental and financial agreements, was nearly unanimous, with Councilman Nate Holden dissenting and Councilwoman Jackie Goldberg abstaining.

John Semcken, vice president of the L.A. Arena Co., said a reported $100-million corporate sponsorship deal with office supplies superstore Staples has yet to be finalized. The Times reported Saturday that Staples has agreed to a 20-year deal to become the main corporate sponsor for the arena to be located near the interchange of the Harbor and Santa Monica freeways.

Semcken said an announcement about corporate backing could come before Thanksgiving.

Council members had said that the location would attract corporate advertising that will help developers Philip Anschutz and Edward Roski repay the city for $58 million in bonds.

Under the terms approved Tuesday, developers also will receive $12 million from the Community Redevelopment Agency, mostly to be used to acquire land for parking lots. Because the agency does not have the $12 million in its reserves, the developers said they will put up that money and the agency will reimburse them with interest. Holden criticized that part of the deal as “a gift of public funds.”

The developers hope to open the arena in late 1999.