The Mayor has proposed a $1.5 billion plan to build a football stadium, named Farmers Field in L.A.'s downtown with the goal of boosting the region's overall economy.
Many oppose his idea because, according to Joel Kotkin, "commitments to mega-projects tend to further drive urban areas into debt, largely by issuing more bonds that taxpayers are obligated to pay back... To get the stadium deal, he continues, Los Angeles, already over-indebted and suffering a poor credit rating, will issue another $275 million."
He also states that "such projects often obscure the real and more complex challenge of nurturing broad-based economic growth... LA's leaders should therefore focus on the systematic causes for the region's ailing economy. One source of the problem lies in tough environmental rules that, although lifted on behalf of football, clamp on growth of virtually every other industry, including the city's port and manufacturing sector."
FULL STORY: Political Footballs: L.A.'s Misguided Plans For A Downtown Stadium
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