CARSON, CA (Monday, March 26, 2007) - AEG, owners and operators of The Home Depot Center, along with the Southern California Committee for the Olympic Games (SCCOG), today announced they will enhance the already impressive competition sites and athlete development programs included in the Los Angeles 2016 Olympic bid by green-lighting a Phase II construction plan at the 125-acre multi-million dollar sports complex should Los Angeles be awarded the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

AEG has planned future construction to incorporate additional training facilities, hotel/conference center and additional office space for sports governing bodies.  Today's announcement signified a commitment to move that program forward and to complete it years prior to the 2016 Games in Los Angeles should the city be proclaimed host city.

\"The additional facilities, training elements and resources that will be available to athletes and federations headquartered here will further solidify The Home Depot Center as an important location for the development of our current and future Olympic athletes,\" said Timothy J. Leiweke, President & CEO, AEG.  \"More than anything, we look at The Home Depot Center as a 'legacy project' that does now and will for many years provide support to the U.S. Olympic movement, our athletes and our national federations.\"

\"This incredible collection of facilities has since its opening served as a productive resource shared by 'in-house' sports organizations such as United States Soccer, USA Cycling, the USTA and United States Track & Field,\" added Leiweke.  \"By accelerating and moving forward with this expansion in conjunction with a Los Angeles Olympic Games, we will open our doors to more organizations from both the United States and abroad as a home for their athletes' training and operations.\" 

\"Our Los Angeles 2016 bid is all about the athletes,\" said Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.  \"AEG and Home Depot are generous supporters of athlete development, and we applaud their commitment to the success of our bid with this announcement today.\"

Phase II of The Home Depot Center will include a state-of-the-art fitness and training space along with a 150-room hotel and conference center.  The facility will offer office space for members of the national governing bodies and federations based at The Home Depot Center and be used on a regular basis by visiting athletes, coaches, trainers and other staff during competitions and training periods, allowing partners to conduct business, train and compete - all at one world-class facility. 

\"This is another important step in delivering what we are offering to the athletes and the Olympic Movement in our bid: the world's finest training and competition facilities for their use for years before and after the Games,\" said Barry Sanders, SCCOG chairman.  \"The Home Depot Center, as home to four sports on the program, is an important component in our bid for the 2016 Games.  With this expansion, it only gets better.\"

\"The phase II construction of The Home Depot Center is a natural next step for what has become one of the nation's most complete training facilities,\" said General Manager Rod O'Connor.  \"The construction plans will expand our breadth of facilities and amenities we offer to athletes at all levels of competition.\"  

The Home Depot Center is currently the training home to four national governing bodies, including the United States Soccer Federation (USSF), United States Tennis Association (USTA), USA Cycling and USA Track & Field.  There are more than 1,000 elite athletes who train year-round at The Home Depot Center, named an official U.S. Olympic Training Site when it opened in 2003.

The United States Olympic Committee (USOC) operates three Olympic Training Centers in the United States -- Colorado Springs, CO; Chula Vista, CA; and, Lake Placid, NY -- at which thousands of athletes train in preparation for the Olympic and Paralympic Games.  The USOC also provides official recognition to a number of U.S. Olympic Training Sites throughout the United States, of which The Home Depot Center is one.

Los Angeles is one of just two U.S. cities remaining in competition to be the USOC's candidate to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to host the 2016 Games. The SCCOG's bid plans were submitted to the USOC on January 22. The USOC has said that it will make a final decision on April 14, 2007.  The IOC will announce the host city in October 2009.

About the Southern California Committee for the Olympic Games (SCCOG)
Formed in 1939, the SCCOG is a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote the Olympic movement in Southern California.  Since its inception, the SCCOG has bid for the Olympic Games on behalf of and in conjunction with the City of Los Angeles, garnering the award of the Games for 1984.  Hailed world-wide for their near-flawless organization, the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles generated an operating surplus of $235 million (in 1984 dollars).  Further information about the SCCOG can be found on their website at www.sccog.org.

 

About The Home Depot Center
The Home Depot Center is southern California's home of world-class competition and training facilities for amateur, Olympic, collegiate and professional athletes.  The $150 million, privately financed facility was developed and is operated by AEG on a 125-acre site on the campus of California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) in Carson, California.  The Home Depot Center features an 8,000-seat tennis stadium, a 27,000-seat stadium for soccer, rugby and other athletic competitions and outdoor concerts, a 10,000-seat facility for track & field and lacrosse, the ADT Event Center (a 2,450-seat indoor velodrome for cycling) and other facilities for softball, baseball, beach volleyball, basketball and other sports. The Home Depot Center is home to three professional sports teams - Major League Soccer's Los Angeles Galaxy and Chivas USA, and Major League Lacrosse's (MLL) Los Angeles Riptide.  Named an Official U.S. Olympic Training Site, The Home Depot Center is also home of the United States Tennis Association's (USTA) High Performance Training Center and is the national team training headquarters for the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF).  The David Beckham Academy for youth soccer, Andre Agassi's Safe Passage All-Stars at-risk youth tennis program and Athletes' Performance's training center for elite and professional athletes are all based at The Home Depot Center.  The Home Depot Center has additionally been designated official training sites for USA Cycling and USA Track & Field.  For more information, please visit www.homedepotcenter.com. 

 
CONTACTS
Alison Groendal
The Home Depot Center Communications
(310) 630-2032

Michael Roth
AEG Communications
(213) 742-7155

Kevin Mortesen
Burson-Marsteller/Southern California Committee for the Olympic Games
(310) 309-6632