O’Malley Launches Study for Stadium

Dodger owner Peter O’Malley reaffirmed his interest in returning professional football to Los Angeles on Tuesday with the announcement that he has commissioned a feasibility study for building a football stadium and acquiring an NFL expansion team.

“It’s the next logical step,” said Nelson Rising, president and chief executive officer of Catellus Development Corporation, which will conduct the study. “The Dodger locationappears to be ideal for a new stadium. It’s the most accessible location in the basin.

“If you draw a circle around Dodger Stadium, you reach so many people. You don’t get thatwith the other locations being talked about.”

Catellus’ study, which is expected to take up to six months, will examine costs, impact on the neighborhood around Dodger Stadium and ways to privately finance the project.

“We go into this believing the second-largest city in the country should have a representation in the NFL,” Rising said. “And I have been a long-time supporter of downtown Los Angeles and the importance of projects like this to the city.”

O’Malley said, “There are many factors which will influence our decision to go forward with this project beyond the feasibility stage. One of those factors is certainly the financial viability of the project. . . .We will not commit to such a project if it is not economically sound.”