Gensler selected by AEG to design proposed $1 billion football stadium

Even though the labor crisis has the NFL at a standstill, the effort to bring a pro football team back to Los Angeles is moving forward.

AEG, proposing to build an NFL stadium/event center in downtown L.A., has taken another step in that direction by selecting Gensler to design the estimated $1 billion venue, The Times has learned. L.A.-based Gensler was one of three finalists, with the other two being the firms HNTB and HKS.

It's something of a coup that AEG chose Gensler, which has never designed an NFL stadium, considering HNTB is responsible for Invesco Field in Denver and HKS drew up the plans for Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis and Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Among dozens of other projects around the world, Gensler designed the 54-story hotel and residence tower that's part of L.A. Live.

Tim Romani, president and chief executive of ICON Venue Group, which is overseeing the proposed project, said the important aspect of Gensler "is the people, not the practice."

Romani said Gensler's extensive experience in helping design the L.A. Live campus will help expedite the environmental impact report, a necessary step toward getting clearance for a stadium.

"They understand how this site works," he said. "They understand all of the infrastructure, and that saves two to three months if not more of the EIR process."

Ron Turner, who heads Gensler's sports practice, was the principal in charge for the firm NBBJ during the design of Staples Center, and also helped design Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati and Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.

"When AEG and ICON decide to do something, they get it done," Turner said. "They're going to get this done. That's what's exciting to us. We've all worked on projects that don't have a chance. These guys build projects around the world, and they know what they're doing."

There are plenty of significant hurdles in the way of the downtown stadium proposal. First of all, the city needs to be on board with the notion of relocating the West Hall of the Convention Center and allowing it to be replaced with a football stadium, all while floating a bond to pay for the destruction of the existing convention center.

There's also the process of convincing a team to move to L.A. — a market that hasn't had an NFL franchise since early 1995 — and doing so in a bad economy while on the heels of a major NFL labor fight that currently is far from resolved.

There is a competing project, too. Ed Roski has a site in City of Industry — the area of the proposed stadium was recently renamed Grand Crossing — and that piece of land is fully entitled for a venue, no small feat.

That said, Romani said the downtown project is in position to surge ahead of the Grand Crossing venture "in a very short time," at least in terms of how far along the designs will be.

"In a matter of months, we'll be equal to if not past where the other project is," he said.

"We're moving full speed into true design of the project. The work that Gensler has already done is going to put us pretty far down the road. But within 10 to 12 months, we're going to have the design set that's ready to start procuring construction for the project."

One interesting aspect of the proposal is AEG is not only looking into the possibility of a retractable roof, but also of a less expensive fixed one.

Romani said the preference is still to go with a retractable roof but, "We're just going to study both to see what the opportunities and constraints are."

Turner said one possibility that will be considered is a translucent roof made of a material that can change any color when light is shot through it, raising the possibility the stadium could be lit different colors depending on the occasion.

Kansas coasts to 20-point win over Richmond

San Antonio, TX (Sports Network) - Returning to the site of its last national championship, Kansas is now one victory away from a trip back to the Final Four.

Brady Morningstar scored 18 points and the Jayhawks rolled to a 77-57 win over Richmond in the Southwest Regional semifinals of the NCAA Tournament.

Marcus Morris added 13 points and eight rebounds for the top-seeded Jayhawks (35-2), who also received 12 points and 14 boards from Thomas Robinson.

Lackey pitches into sixth for Red Sox

John Lackey pitched into the sixth inning Thursday, leading the Boston Red Sox to an 8-5 victory over the New York Mets.

Lackey gave up a run and five hits in 5 1-3 innings. He walked one, hit a batter and struck out two. It was the first walk and hit batter Lackey has allowed in 15 2-3 innings this spring.

Carl Crawford and Jed Lowrie each had two hits for Boston, and Drew Sutton hit a two-run homer.

Justin Turner went 2 for 2 with a run scored and three RBIs for the Mets.

Left-hander Jonathon Niese went five innings, giving up five runs - four earned - on seven hits and a walk. He had seven strikeouts.

In many offices, it's bracket madness

The Road to Reliant begins this week with an expected 40 million people pursuing the holy grail of college hoops — picking a perfect bracket.

“Is it possible? Anything is possible,” said Amram Shapiro, founder of the website Book Of Odds.com. “(But) it would be an astonishing feat.”

The odds of creating a perfect NCAA Tournament bracket are, putting it mildly, stacked against you.

DePaul math professor Jeffrey Bergen offers some head-spinning facts:

• The Astros, Rockets and Texans all have a better chance of winning their respective championships in the same season for four straight years.

• It would be easier to predict the winner of every presidential election (Democrat or Republican) though 2260.

• There are more than 147.5 quintillion ways to fill out a bracket with this year’s 68-team field. (But relax! Most big online games are sticking with their Thursday start and 64 teams.)

For the record, there has never been a documented perfect bracket.

Multiple brackets chosen

Two years ago, the closest among more than 4 million entries in ESPN.com’s Tournament Challenge still had five wrong in 63 picks. Last year, a Chicago teenager correctly picked the first two rounds (48 games) in the CBSSports.com bracket challenge; he missed on 10 of the final 15 selections.

“At some point, with all the brackets being filled out on both our site and the competitors, you would think we would get close,” said Jason Waram, the vice president of fantasy and social media for ESPN, which introduced its Tournament Challenge in 1999.

On average, most people will fill out multiple brackets, from two to 60, according to research findings by the Fantasy Sports Trade Association. Most office pools range between $5 and $10 to enter. Many websites offer prizes, ranging from $10,000 by ESPN.com to $1 million by Yahoo and $14 million by Sportsbooks.com, for a perfect bracket.

More money is expected to be wagered on the NCAA Tournament — $12 billion — than the Super Bowl.

“Brackets dominate workplace social circles this time of year,” said Kim Beason, the coordinator of the park and recreation program at the University of Mississippi and a fantasy sports researcher. “People that may not ever come out of their offices and mingle and mix with folks will do so during bracket (contests).”

Lost money and time

An estimated $192 million in lost productivity in American workplaces is expected during the three-week NCAA Tournament, according to an annual report by the Chicago-based outplacement firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas.

The figure takes into account the amount of pre-tournament time spent preparing brackets and an estimated 8.4 million hours of online streaming watched on Thursday and Friday during business hours.

“At first glance, 8.4 million hours of lost productivity seems like it would deliver a crushing blow to the economy,” said chief executive officer John A. Challenger. “However .… the 8.4 million hours lost to March Madness is a relative drop in the bucket, accounting for less than one-tenth of 1 percent of the total hours American workers will put in over the three weeks of the tournament.”

About 33 percent of companies have policies prohibiting workplace gambling, according to a survey by the Society for Human Resource Management released before last year’s Tournament. Yet only 6 percent discipline or terminate wrongdoers.

Illegal — but not enforced

As far as the law, the simple term “office pool” — which insinuates gambling in a public place rather than a private residence — would be classified as illegal, a class C misdemeanor punishable by a fine, according to a spokeswoman for the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.

With so many people participating in NCAA Tournament pools, it’s virtually impossible for law enforcement to monitor the activity, she said.

So there’s one less thing to worry about. And Shapiro, who crunches odds for a living, says a simple, worry-free approach may be the best bracket strategy.

“If you want my real advice,” he said, “it’s just have fun.”