Inglewood residents who moved to SoFi Stadium die after South Bay rejects $500 million in funding – Orange County Register

Inglewood’s dream of building a $2.2 billion lift to transport visitors to SoFi Stadium and the Intuit Dome is officially dead, says the project’s chief visionary, Mayor James T. Butts Jr.

A plan designed to ease traffic at the city’s sports venues will no longer go ahead, at least in its current form, after the South Bay Cities Council of Governments, a joint government body made up of 16 cities, rejected the request Thursday . , October 24, for $493 million in fundingsaid Butts. These funds were critical to securing another billion dollars in federal grants needed to begin construction.

“This is by no means the end of improving mobility and the environment in Inglewood,” Butts said in an interview. “This is the end of this project as it was intended, an uplifting movement of people.”

Inglewood’s latest request was on top of the $368 million that SBCCOG members had already pledged to provide to the automated transportation system. In a press release, Inglewood describes the decision as a loss for “17,000 potential employees” and “residents of Inglewood and the cities of Southbay.”

Butts described it as a “disruption” in Inglewood’s life. successful track record. Since 2011, the city has reopened the Kia Forum and acquired SoFi Stadium for $5.5 billion, the YouTube Theater, the headquarters of the NFL Network and the Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles, and the Intuit Dome for $2 billion.

“This is the first time we’ve encountered hiccups, and that’s all there is: hiccups,” he said.

Waters is lobbying for the project

Inglewood needed additional local money to secure a Federal Transit Administration grant that would cover half the total cost of the project. However, this federal funding is already in jeopardy after US House Representative Maxine Waters pushed to eliminate the down payment from the House version of this year’s federal budget. It remains to be seen whether it will be added back once the House and Senate reconcile their budgets later this year.

Waters repeated her concerns to SBCCOG before the decision was made. The project was scheduled for eradicate dozens of local businesses along a 1.6 mile route.

“I am completely opposed to this very expensive project,” Waters said. “It’s supposed to be something to help the people of Inglewood, but that’s not really the case. It’s nothing.”

Several cities opposed

Ultimately, officials in opposing cities, including Torrance, Manhattan Beach and El Segundo, were unwilling to give Inglewood more taxpayer-funded transit dollars over concerns that it would be too expensive and would potentially leave less money for projects. elsewhere in the region.

Chief Executive Jackie Bacharach, criticizing staff, said Inglewood received a third Measure M And Measure R funding allocated by the agency, and if approved, the new request would increase that amount to 53.48% of funds controlled by cities. Measures R and M are half-cent sales tax increases passed by Los Angeles County voters in 2008 and 2016, respectively.

SBCCOG would also have to provide exceptions to the policy limiting the total amount a single project could receive and the requirement that the city match a percentage of the total amount.

“This will impact our ability to award future projects,” Bacharach warned. Los Angeles County Transportation Authority officials, including County Administrator Janice Hahn, tried to reassure cities that there would be enough money, but their efforts were unsuccessful.

Site owners: bad for business

Perhaps the most surprising of the project’s opponents were the very places it was intended to help. Gerald McCallum II, project manager for Hollywood Park, Kia Forum and Intuit Dome, told the South Bay city group that while Inglewood’s thriving sports and entertainment district would not have been built without Butts’ support, the Inglewood Transit Connector was simply bad for their business.

He said it would potentially close a lane of traffic on Prairie Avenue and lead to years of construction during a time when the sites would host the Olympics, the World Cup, the NBA All-Star Game and a second Super Bowl. Due to the delays, it is unlikely that WTC will start operating. just in time for the Summer Olympics in 2028, as originally planned.

Even when completed, it will only serve visitors heading north and back, McCallum said.

The project would also cut 30 feet into the Hollywood Park property and “jeopardize future development” of Sophie Stadium. The city would need to obtain the land through eminent domain and be willing to pay, he said.

“This is not an emotional decision,” McCallum said. “It’s a business decision.”

Butts denied the lane would close and said in an interview that it would be impossible to farm the necessary land otherwise.

R. Otto Maly of Hollywood Park, on behalf of the Kroenke Group, and Steve Ballmer, owner of the Clippers, expressed similar dissent in letters earlier this year. The ITC risked derailing mega-events planned for the coming years and suggested that “the governing bodies of these events would revoke the awards, resulting in huge losses to the city and the community,” they wrote.

“Together, we have built world-class facilities, committed to more than $100 million in direct benefits packages, and created the greenest sports facility in the country,” Ballmer wrote in his Aug. 27 letter. “This private investment has resulted in millions of dollars in new tax dollars for the City of Inglewood each year.

“We would like to take this opportunity to reiterate that we will not accept any financial responsibility for the long-term operation or maintenance of ITC, nor do we believe that fans who do not use ITC should be charged additional fees to cover these expenses. »

Both Ballmer and Mali said shuttle services have been successful and should instead continue to be used as a means of reducing traffic congestion.

“We’re moving on”

Butts said he doesn’t blame the site owners for opposing the project “for whatever business reasons.” Inglewood will continue to work with them on alternatives, he said.

“These venues have been our partners and will be our partners in the future,” he said.

Butts and the city press release emphasized that ITC’s closure will not be the end of the city’s commitment to providing “critical connections to our activity centers and meeting the mobility needs of our city and region.” Inglewood is committed to “finding an alternative solution to improve transit,” Butts said.

“It’s disappointing, but we’re moving on,” he said.

Originally published: October 25, 2024, 3:47 pm