LOS ANGELES (AP) — Most members on a panel of local business leaders selected by Los Angeles’s mayor to evaluate plans for a downtown NFL stadium have financial or other ties to the proposed venue’s backer, Anschutz Entertainment Group.
The members were chosen by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. They include a former governor who received generous donations from entities connected to AEG owner Philip Anschutz and entertainment executives that have partnered with the firm or its affiliates.
Also on the commission are business owners who served on local civic boards with AEG brass.
Political science professor Raphael Sonenshein of the California State University, Fullerton, says it would be difficult to find any area business that hasn’t worked with AEG.
The company and the mayor’s office had no immediate comment.
