While the legislature in Minnesota continued to work on a solution to keep the Vikings, AEG on Tuesday unveiled its latest vision for an NFL stadium in downtown Los Angeles.

Two weeks remain in the public-comment period of AEG’s environmental impact report on the concept, and the company hopes to have its approvals in place by late summer, with the goal of luring a football team back to L.A. next spring.

AEG’s is one of two competing stadium proposals, with the other in City of Industry.

The latest version of Farmers Field was released as part of the opening session of the international Stadia Design & Technology EXPO 2012 conference held at the Los Angeles Convention Center.


The rendering shows an open-roofed venue that almost looks as if it’s wearing transparent shoulder pads, with outdoor concourses. The idea calls for a light, accordion-style roof that is somewhat translucent, as well as lighter and less expensive than a typical retractable covering.

“From the very beginning, it was important that we had a building that felt like it was in L.A., that was very open,” said Gensler principal Ron Turner, director of the architectural firm’s sports and entertainment division. “We didn’t want to have one of these domes that was solid. We also wanted a building that felt light on the outside, one that fit nicely with Staples Center, and we tried to make the building as transparent as possible.”

L.A. has been without an NFL team for 17 years, and every stadium proposal has come with dazzling renderings and conceptual videos. The real trick – one no one has accomplished – is turning those into an actual stadium.

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AEG reveals latest vision for an NFL stadium downtown