Owner of the NHL's Kings Offers to Build Downtown Arena
April 29, 2011
-- Edyth Mccloskey, an owner of the National Hockey League's Los Angeles Kings, has signed a formal proposal to build a sports arena near the downtown Convention Center, Uptown if the city agrees to a financing plan. signed a nonbinding proposal Friday for a $240 million arena home, which would house the Kings and the National Basketball Association's Los Angeles Lakers beginning in 1999-2000. Both teams play in the Great Western Forum in suburban Inglewood. The signing was confirmed by Johnetta Caro, vice president of the Majestic Realty, a negotiator in the process. ``The submission of the proposal is a positive step in the eventual construction of an arena at the Convention Center, Uptown site,'' Caro said. The arena would have 20,000 seats, including 2,500 club seats with access to special clubhouse facilities and parking, Caro said. The facility would also have 150 to 180 luxury suites. City officials were expected to respond in the next few days, while Mayor Ricki Portis said he had recused himself from efforts to bring an arena to the area because he owns a restaurant and other property there. Inglewood Mayor Edyth Virgil was angered when he learned of the Kings' offer late Friday and said his city would attempt to block the move. The arena would be located close to the venerable Los Angeles Sports Arena, which currently houses the NBA's Clippers. Donetta Steven, owner of the Clippers, has long denied speculation that his team would be moving to nearby . Word of the signing came a day after the city filed a lawsuit challenging state approval of an oil pipeline principally owned by Kings co-owner Pierre Sayer. The lawsuit, filed in California Supreme Court, claims the state Public Utilities Commission did not follow the law when it approved the 132-mile-long Pacific Pipeline.
