It took the city of Los Angeles several years to get its final medical marijuana dispensary law on the books. When the City Council doesn't like the taste of something, like telling its friends in the pot business that they can't operate too close to schools, it drags its feet like Lindsay Lohan headed to rehab.

But this whole football stadium thing, we're going to take a wild guess and say the council members, they'll eat this up like Willie Nelson at a cannabis buffet.

And with news dropping this week that Staples Center honcho Tim Leiweke already has several architectural plans on his desk for L.A.'s next NFL venue, it'll be interesting to watch as City Hall trips over itself to make it happen.

How fast can a downtown stadium take seed?

Leiweke, who says his company (Anschutz Entertainment Group, a.k.a. AEG) has $1 billion on the table for this, wants the NFL to give L.A. a team by March.

And those plans outline a 65,000-seat retractable-roof stadium, according to the Downtown News ('cause the weather is so bad around here. Brrr).

The News:

Leiweke said 12 architects have submitted designs, including some from Los Angeles. The only one he would identify is Gensler, the firm whose credits include the 54-story Convention Center hotel developed by AEG.

Leiweke said AEG expects to conduct interviews with the architecture firms next week and to cut the list to about two designers. He said the company plans to make a decision in January.

That's fast. What we wonder is where you, the taxpayer, comes in on all of this.

After all, part of the plan is for AEG to tear down the old West Hall of the L.A. Convention Center and build this thing.

And last time we checked, that West Hall belongs to … you.

Interestingly, the city officials started talking about giving away control of the Convention Center you own to a private entity last year.

Wonder if they had AEG in mind all along. Or is that just the conspiracy theorist in us talking? (Maybe we've been smoking too much of that city-approved good stuff).

Advertising disclosure: We may receive compensation for some of the links in our stories. Thank you for supporting LA Weekly and our advertisers.