Downtown the Best Option for the NFL in LA

Rendering of Farmers Field in Downtown LA

This past week, a 10,000 page environmental impact report (EIR) was published for the proposed Farmers Field stadium in Downtown Los Angeles.  This was a major step forward for a project that is the best option for the NFL to return to LA.  While there is a competing project in the City of Industry and some people have named Dodger Stadium as an ideal place for a stadium, Farmers Field makes the most sense for the region. 

           

The EIR told us much of what we already knew, in the brevity of 17 volumes.  There will be traffic going to games.  Guess what, there is traffic at every stadium in America.  It once took me 2 and a half hours to get off the freeway and into the parking lot at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego.  That stadium is located in the suburbs and is surrounded by freeways. 

            

The report estimates that 19,000 cars will enter the area for games and that 18 percent of ticket buyers will use public transportation to get to the stadium.  These estimates were met by a typical Angeleno response – “That’s not enough parking spaces!” and “we have public transportation in this city?” 

            

The fact is that the Downtown and the City of Industry projects stand in direct contrast.  The City of Industry proposal is what people in Los Angeles are comfortable with.  It is a stadium located in the suburbs, surrounded by parking lots, and easily accessible by freeway.  It is also a stadium that will likely be irrelevant outside of the 8 weekends a year that it is used for football.  Farmers Field, on the other hand, follows an ideology that would be welcomed in Europe.  It is in a dense location.  It is easily accessible by public transit.  It is also going to be an event center that is flexible enough to host conventions and even basketball games. 

           

The City of Industry site may be the stadium that Angelenos want, but Farmers Field is truly what this city needs.  It will be a stadium that can help to change Los Angeles from a suburban, car loving culture to a place that embraces urbanism and public transportation.  When people go somewhere in Los Angeles, their first thoughts are often “what freeway do I need to take?” and “how much traffic will there be?”  While this thought process is fine for an excursion to San Diego, it is unsustainable for trips that are only a few miles away.  Many of my friends and family members don’t even know that LA has a subway.  They are also completely unfamiliar with the concept of light rail.  Several studies have shown that Los Angeles is actually the densest region in the United States.  That’s right, by some metrics LA is actually more crowded than New York. 

            

The problem is that we’re still acting like we live in the suburbs created here in the 1950’s.  We need to embrace our density, and Farmers Field can help us do that.  Increasing the population around Downtown, near all the light rail and subway lines, would help people erase the idea that this city is too spread out.  It would also put pressure on the city to keep improving and expanding its mass transit system. 

            

The City of Industry and possibly even Dodger Stadium could be fine places for an NFL team to someday play.  However, Farmers Field has the potential to do something special for this city.  When people out of state see it on television, instead of thinking “what beautiful suburbs and parking lots” they will instead think “wow, Los Angeles is starting to look like New York.”  The major concerns for this stadium – parking, traffic, financing – are issues for any stadium in this country. 

It will be great when a professional team takes the field once again representing Los Angeles.  However, the cultural changes associated with Farmers Field could be much more valuable to this region than any football team.