INSIDE INGLEWOOD-According to a Wave newspaper story dated September 25, 2013, Inglewood’s mayor, James T. Butts, “rejected any idea that the Hollywood Park Tomorrow Project was in jeopardy.” ‘Remember that’s inclusive of the Wal-Mart site, which gives us 292 acres,” he added. “A football stadium uses maybe 170. There’s room for [such] a giant development,’” he said.
Staff from the Morningside Park Chronicle, a community newspaper in Inglewood, for which this journalist is the editor-in-chief, videotaped a town hall meeting on November 2, 2013 at the Inglewood-based First Church of God. At the event, Butts stated, “Since the Wal-Mart site owns the parking lot next door and they want nearly $100 million, that means the [NFL] stadium is just a rumor.”
In the aforementioned Wave story from September, 2013, Butts stated, “‘I’ve been talking to various interests about bringing football to Inglewood for a little over two years now and this is probably the closest we’ve come to seeing the process possibly play itself out.’”
In a January 30 Los Angeles Business Journal story, David Nusbaum wrote “Wal-Mart Stores Inc. this month sold a vacant 60-acre parcel in Inglewood, renewing speculation that the site could become a National Football League stadium.”
During a 5 a.m. KJLH live radio interview (photo) on July 30, Butts announced, “The Hollywood Park Tomorrow project is already in progress.”
To date, no construction has been observed. On April 8, however, Butts and the Inglewood city council approved “an agreement with Turner Construction for use of Hollywood Park Race Track for training exercises” to grant the “[Inglewood] Police Department access to the Hollywood Park Race Track property to conduct various personnel training exercises.” As late as June 27, IPD have been using the fenced-in lot for training.
One wonders what other “rumors” Inglewood’s mayor Butts has in store for residents.
(Randall Fleming is a veteran journalist and magazine publisher. He has worked at and for the New York Post, the Brooklyn Spectator and the Los Feliz Ledger. He is currently editor-in-chief at the Morningside Park Chronicle, a weekly newspaper based in Inglewood, CA and on-line at www.MorningsideParkChronicle.com. Mr. Fleming’s views are his own and do not reflect the views of CityWatch.) Photo credit: Randall Fleming
-cw
CityWatch
Vol 12 Issue 63
Pub: Aug 5, 2014
