LOS ANGELES -- In perhaps the biggest step Los Angeles has taken in 16 years of trying to bring the NFL back, the city council unanimously passed the financial framework of an agreement between Anschutz Entertainment Group and the city to build Farmers Field, a $1.2 billion football stadium and events center in downtown Los Angeles.

The 68,000-seat roofed stadium would be attached to a new $275 million wing of the Los Angeles Convention Center next to the Staples Center, which is also owned and operated by AEG.

The "memorandum of understanding," a non-binding agreement, only needed a simple majority to pass but was approved by all present council members at Los Angeles City Hall to the delight of a standing room only crowd, which cheered after the vote was announced.

"This is a significant project for our city and it will bring football back to this city," said councilwoman Jan Perry, the committee chair on the proposed stadium and events center. "This sends a very clear message we are serious about bringing football back to Los Angeles."

An actual deal with the city is still about 10 months from becoming a reality, with the completion of an environmental impact report not expected until the spring. AEG is hoping to begin construction on the project in June 2012, with Farmers Field opening in September 2016.

AEG and Farmers Insurance Exchange announced the naming rights deal for the stadium in February.

The agreement states construction on the project cannot begin until an NFL team has signed a long-term lease to play in Los Angeles. That means an NFL team could be playing in the Coliseum or the Rose Bowl as early as next season if AEG begins construction on the project this summer.

"It sends a very strong message to the league now," AEG president and CEO Tim Leiweke said at a news conference after the vote.