Carson May Draw NFL
A sprawling $120-million sports complex planned for Cal State Dominguez Hills not only will be an epicenter for soccer and tennis but probably the summer home to the San Diego Chargers.
Anschutz Entertainment Group will break ground today on the Carson project, which could be the first step in the NFL’s return to Los Angeles. The Chargers are strongly considering relocating their training camp from UC San Diego to the AEG complex beginning in the summer of 2003, the estimated completion date for the facility.
“We’re definitely interested,” Charger President Dean Spanos said Monday. “We’re going down that path. It clearly stands out by far over all the other sites we’ve looked at.”
The complex will be the latest gem in the growing sports empire of Denver billionaire Philip Anschutz, who owns Staples Center and all or part of 17 sports franchises, including the Kings. He also owns the L.A. Galaxy--one of his five Major League Soccer teams--which will call the complex home.
Spanos was quick to clarify that relocating training camp does not translate into moving the team’s permanent home, merely that removing players from familiar surroundings allows them to better concentrate on football for three weeks every summer.
While pointing out football is an ancillary focus of the complex, AEG President Tim Leiweke said the 85-acre facility will feature all the necessities--and more--for interested NFL franchises, including fields, office space, weight rooms, health facilities, accommodations and room for 10,000 spectators.
“We’ll be able to do all of that,” Leiweke said. “Clearly, our hope is at some point down the road--separate from the training center--that an NFL team returns to L.A. It’s in the best interest of our city and the best interest of the NFL.”
The primary tenants of the facility will be the Galaxy; the United States Soccer Federation, which will make it a permanent training home for its men’s and women’s national teams; and the Pete Sampras Tennis Academy.
The centerpiece of the facility will be a figure-8 featuring a 27,000-seat soccer stadium at one end and a 13,000-seat tennis stadium at the other. Located between the stadiums will be a two-level support building featuring amenities to be shared by both stadiums, including 10 locker rooms, weight and training rooms, coaching offices and player lounges.
In addition to the stadiums, the complex will include:
* Seven soccer training fields.
* Thirty tennis courts, 18 of which will be newly constructed.
* A 6,000-seat track and field venue that expands to 15,000 seats and could potentially serve as the permanent home to USA Track and Field.
* A relocation and upgrade of an existing velodrome, inline roller-hockey rink, and baseball and softball fields.
* A three-mile jogging trail with a dozen fitness stations around the perimeter of the complex.
This will be the second stadium in the country created exclusively for soccer; the other is the home stadium of MLS’ Columbus (Ohio) Crew. The AEG version will cost twice as much, Leiweke said, and will feature a roof over the stands that enhances the intimacy and contributes to the fan experience.
“It will move soccer ahead in this country light years,” said Leiweke, also president of Staples Center. “For the first time ever, there will be a stadium built in this country that will be comparable to some of the great soccer stadiums in Europe.”
With the development of the U.S. Soccer National Training Center, games will take place at the facility throughout the year and will involve as many as 10 national soccer team programs for top-flight players of all ages.
Leiweke said the creation of the tennis complex could help shift the balance of power in the sport from Florida to Southern California, and attract more world-class events and tournaments to Los Angeles.
Officials from the U.S. Tennis Assn. have discussed moving their training-center headquarters from Key Biscayne, Fla., to L.A., or possibly establishing a location in each. USTA officials Arlen Kantarian and Paul Annacone met here last week with AEG regarding the tennis center and other opportunities.
“The USTA thinks this is a great opportunity for the sport,” said Kantarian, the organization’s chief executive of professional tennis. “This is a significant commitment and great news for tennis. We support their vision, and we look forward to further discussions as to what might take place in L.A.”
*
Times staff writers Lisa Dillman and Grahame L. Jones contributed to this story.
