Hollywood Park developers ready to build football stadium without team

The developers of Hollywood Park on Monday underscored their commitment to building an NFL-caliber football stadium in Inglewood regardless of whether the St. Louis Rams agree to play there.

“We are not dependent on that commitment in advance,” said Chris Meany of Hollywood Park Land Co., which Sunday announced its intention to build an 80,000-seat stadium between the Forum concert hall and the former site of the Hollywood Park horse racing track.

“We are proposing to build it on spec,” Meany said at a press conference in Inglewood. “We are prepared to start even if we haven’t finalized the details of what that team would be.”

Meany described the stadium as a multipurpose facility designed to host football games, soccer games or possibly Olympic events.

“We will have a sports and entertainment complex here to host whatever sports are ultimately going to be in L.A,” he said.

If approved by voters and city officials, the stadium could be completed in 2018. It would be built concurrently with a $2 billion residential, retail, hotel and office complex on the site of the former race track.

If Inglewood voters reject the proposed stadium and entertainment district, the already approved Hollywood Park project will go forward as planned, Meany said.

The Inglewood stadium plan competes with Farmers Field, a proposed pro football stadium in downtown Los Angeles by the Los Angeles Convention Center and Staples Center arena. Los Angeles sports and entertainment giant AEG has been searching for a football team to play in its planned facility.

AEG released this statement Monday:

“We continue our efforts to advance Farmers Field and we remain confident in the advantages of our project over any of the other sites that have been rumored for a new football stadium. Farmers Field offers a highly desirable location at L.A. LIVE, billions in existing infrastructure and complementary facilities surrounding the site, and a fully entitled project able to host two NFL franchises without the legal, political and taxpayer risk that other sites face.”