By City News Service

Plans to build an NFL-caliber stadium in Inglewood are moving at lightning speed and could win approval from city leaders as soon as a Feb. 24 council meeting, it was reported Friday.

Election officials confirmed Thursday there are more than enough valid signatures to put the project on the June ballot, but the Inglewood City Council also has the option to approve the plan for an 80,000-seat venue outright, a course that appears likely, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Approval is required to amend existing plans for the 238-acre Hollywood Park site to include the football stadium. Skipping a public vote could save the city time and money — about $110,000 for an election, officials told The Times.

Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts Jr. said he’s waiting to hear the results of economic and environmental reports before making a decision. Those reports are expected to be presented at the council meeting.

“I’m leaning toward whatever would get us down the road the fastest,” Butts said.

Hollywood Park Land Co. — the development company that includes St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke — said it hoped to break ground on the project by the end of the year. Officials close to the project have expressed hope that the stadium plan is a first step toward bringing back an NFL team to the Los Angeles area.

The developers proposed zoning changes for the stadium through a ballot initiative, which would allow them to skip lengthy reviews that civic and environmental activists say protect surrounding neighborhoods. City officials said environmental studies were performed on the land in 2009, before the stadium was added to the project.

Last month, organizers filed 22,183 signatures, twice as many as needed to put the initiative on the ballot. The Los Angeles County registrar’s office verified 11,490 signatures, surpassing the 9,000 needed to move forward, Inglewood City Clerk Yvonne Horton said.