LOS ANGELES — A proposal to build a gondola from downtown Los Angeles to Dodger Stadium hit some turbulence this week when the City Council voted overwhelmingly to urge transportation officials to ground the project.
The estimated $500 million aerial tramway would connect fans between the stadium about a mile (1.6 km) away to Union Station, the heart of Los Angeles’ rail system.
Supporters say the gondola would help fans of the World Series champions avoid nightmarish traffic. But critics worry that it would do little to keep cars off the roads.
In a 12-1 vote, council members on Wednesday approved a resolution to advise the LA County Metropolitan Transportation Authority to kill the project.
Mayor Karen Bass must sign off for it to take effect, and the mayor has previously voted in favor of the project as a Metro board member. Her office didn’t immediately reply to an email Thursday asking if she will OK the council’s resolution.
A full council vote to approve the project is expected next year. But this week’s action is a sign that developers could face an uphill battle getting it built.
The ultimate goal is to get people to take Metro buses and trains to Union Station, and from there glide through the sky to the ballpark. But that is a tough proposition in sprawling, car-centric Los Angeles, where many people live in areas far beyond the bus and rail networks.
Backers say the gondola would be relatively inexpensive, it won’t cost taxpayers any money, it’s better for the environment than cars, and aerial tramways are safe and quiet. They estimate that each ride would take about five minutes and that the system could move at least 5,000 people an hour in each direction.
When the gondola was first proposed in 2018, Aerial Rapid Transit Technologies, a company founded by former Dodgers owner Frank McCourt, said it would pay for a portion of the project. The firm said it would seek private financing for the remainder.
But the nonprofit group Stop The Gondola says McCourt hasn’t released a full financial plan so it is still unclear whether taxpayers could ultimately get hit with bills for building it or ongoing maintenance and operations.
The group says neighborhoods, many of them lower-income, between the train station and the stadium will be stuck with the “eyesores” of huge towers that support the cables that run the large gondola cabins. More than 150 trees could be cut down, the group says, and there are concerns that construction could clog up traffic along the route for years.
Critics also say baseball fans could end up simply driving downtown to get on the gondola, rather than taking public transportation.
Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez, who introduced the resolution, said the city needs meaningful public transit solutions, and a gondola doesn’t qualify.
“It is a private development scheme disguised as transportation, designed to raise the value of a billionaire’s parking lots, not to serve working Angelenos,” Hernandez said in a statement last month. “Our communities have said loudly and clearly that they do not want a project that threatens their homes, their park, their green space, and their quality of life.”
But some of Hernandez’s constituents in LA’s Chinatown said that is not their position at all. A group of six families who have lived in the historic neighborhood for decades released a statement Thursday saying the gondola project could enrich their community, which has suffered economically in recent years.
“The gondola could mean commitments to local hiring and apprenticeship programs for our neighbors, incubators for small immigrant-owned businesses, and cultural preservation funds, including marketing opportunities,” the statement said.
Supporters say more than 400 businesses in the Chinatown, El Pueblo and Lincoln Heights neighborhoods have signed a petition supporting the proposal.
The Dodgers have called the gondola an “innovative project” that would improve the fan experience.
ST. LOUIS — Chicago star Connor Bedard was injured on a last-second faceoff in a 3-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues on Friday night and will miss the Blackhawks’ game Saturday.
With 0.8 seconds left, Bedard attempted to win the draw to give Chicago one last chance, but he was knocked down by Blues center Brayden Schenn. Bedard grasped at his right shoulder and immediately headed to the locker room, accompanied by a trainer, while his teammates remained on the ice and the bench.
“He won’t play tomorrow,” Chicago coach Jeff Blashill said of the team’s game at home against Detroit on Saturday night. “I won’t know more info tomorrow, so don’t ask me tomorrow. At some point through the weekend, I’ll know more, so I’d probably have more info come Monday.”
Asked whether Bedard’s injury would be only short term, Blashill offered few details.
“I’d hate to say that without knowing the information,” he said. “Until we get the information, again, he’s not going to play tomorrow.”
Bedard ranked fifth in the NHL in points heading into the game, and he assisted on both of Chicago’s goals in the loss. He now has 12 goals and 25 assists.
He was pushed into desperation mode when the Blues iced the puck and a half a second was put back on the clock. Blashill said he’d have to see the play again, but his initial impression was that nothing dirty occurred on the play.
“Honestly, I think it’s a freak accident,” Blashill said, “to be honest with you.”
It’s one of the boldest moves in Wild franchise history, and signals GM Bill Guerin’s hunger to win now after signing Kirill Kaprizov to the richest contract in NHL history this summer. The Wild have not advanced past the first round of the playoffs since 2015.
Hughes, 26, is a 2018 first-round pick of the Canucks and considered one of the best defensemen in the league. He is one of six players already named to the Team USA Olympic men’s hockey team. Hughes won the Norris Trophy in 2023-24 when he recorded a career-high 92 points for a first-place Canucks team.
However, a Hughes trade became increasingly inevitable after the Canucks got off to a poor start. Vancouver entered Friday in last place in the Pacific Division at 11-17-3 with a minus-24 goal differential. Late last month, the Vancouver front office sent a memo across the league that it was open to trading any of its pending unrestricted free agents. That did not include Hughes, who is under contract through the end of next season.
However, it empowered many general managers across the league to inquire about Hughes, who did not have any trade protection.
The Canucks got plenty in return. Buium, 20, is a 2024 first-round pick of the Wild and can inherit Hughes’ role as a true power-play quarterback. Rossi, 24, and Ohgren, 21, are also former first-round picks of the Wild.
Though Hughes never asked for a trade, many around the NHL believed he did not want to re-sign in Vancouver after his contract expired in the summer of 2027. The prevailing belief is that Hughes preferred to play for a United States-based team on the East Coast. Hughes spends his offseason in Michigan. His brothers, Jack and Luke, play for the New Jersey Devils.
According to sources, the Devils did make a trade offer for Hughes to reunite him with his two younger brothers. However, New Jersey couldn’t match what Minnesota gave up.
Minnesota began engaging with Vancouver about a week ago, according to sources, and the deal came together quickly. The Canucks received at least six other offers, according to sources, but Vancouver believed Minnesota presented the strongest overall package that can best set the team up for the future.
Hughes is not eligible to sign an extension with the Wild until July 1.
San Jose State wide receiver Danny Scudero, the leading receiver in FBS this season, will enter the NCAA transfer portal when it opens in January, he announced Friday.
The 5-foot-9, 174-pound redshirt sophomore caught 88 passes for 1,291 yards and 10 touchdowns in his first season with the Spartans, becoming a semifinal for the Biletnikoff Award and earning first-team All-Mountain West honors.
Scudero is expected to be one of the more coveted wide receivers available when the transfer portal officially opens on Jan. 2 and has two more seasons of eligibility remaining.
Scudero spent two years at Sacramento State before transferring to San Jose State after the 2024 season. He broke out with 189 receiving yards to open the season against Central Michigan and surpassed 100 yards in five more games, including a career-high 215 and two touchdowns against Hawaii.
Scudero’s 88 receptions ranked fourth-most in FBS, and he leads all receivers this season with 16 catches of 30 or more yards.
The Spartans produced the No. 14 passing offense in FBS this season but went 3-9 in their second year under coach Ken Niumatalolo.