LA Council Give Final Approval for NFL Stadium

The LA City Council today gave final approval to plans to build a new NFL stadium downtown, sick a key step in returning a pro football team to the nation’s No. 2 media market by 2017.

The $1.5 billion project, which includes upgrading a portion of the adjacent LA Convention Center, is the one proposed to be privately funded by Anshutz Entertainment Group — the same AEG that has just put itself up for sale.

The stadium—its naming rights already secured by Farmers Insurance as Farmers Field—ideally will  be ready for construction in March 2013, assuming any lawsuits against the project are resolved.

There are several candidates to eventually call Farmers Field home. The San Diego Chargers appear to be the front-runners, with the Oakland Raiders and Buffalo Bills also realistically in the mix.