SAN DIEGO -- A business group headed by Denver billionaire Philip Anschutz said Thursday it wants to build a 64,000-seat stadium so it can bring professional football back to the second-largest city in the nation.

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The stadium near the Los Angeles Staples Center would require the L.A. to issue $100 million in bonds to acquire 20 acres of land.

The group, however, emphasized that it would repay the bonds over time and no taxpayer money would be used for the proposed stadium.

"This is indeed a bright moment in time for Los Angeles to bring the NFL back to the city," said Tim Leiweke, president of Anschutz Entertainment Group. "I think the NFL is a better league with Los Angeles, and we are a better city with the NFL."

The media-shy Anschutz did not attend the news conference at Staples Center.

The group also intends to seek a $150 million loan from the National Football League and a promise to stage at least two Super Bowls in the new stadium, which could cost more than $400 million.

The stadium would include as many as 200 luxury boxes that could each sell for $125,000 a year, providing a key source of revenue.

AEG built Staples Center with a similar financial model. The arena serves as a home to the NBA's Lakers and Clippers and the NHL's Kings.

"This is going to be done like Staples Center was," said Mayor James Hahn, who attended Thursday's news conference. "It's a public-private partnership where the private side is going to pay the bills."

A slew of financial and government hurdles remain for the stadium project. But if all goes well, it could open for the 2005 season, officials said.

Other financial backers include billionaire supermarket mogul Ron Burkle, real estate developer Ed Roski, and Casey Wasserman, owner of the Los Angeles Avengers arena football team.

Roski led a failed attempt several years ago to bring an expansion team to Los Angeles but lost out to a group in Houston that made a $700 million bid for the franchise.

"Timing is everything," Roski said Thursday. "We think the timing is right now."

The NFL declined comment on details of the plan.

"It's encouraging but has a long way to go," said Greg Aiello, a league spokesman. "We'll continue to work with them."

Going ahead without taxpayer support would be a departure for the NFL, which has strongly encouraged public-private coalitions in the construction of stadium complexes for its teams.

Wasserman said that during a recent meeting by the group with NFL officials in New York, the league mentioned the possibility of two teams playing in the stadium. He said the league believes Los Angeles is one of the cities that could support two teams.

"It's been done here already with the Lakers and Clippers," Wasserman said, citing Staples Center.

The Los Angeles area has been without an NFL franchise since the Raiders left for Oakland and the Rams for St. Louis in the spring of 1995.

Several NFL teams have approached the group about the possibility of moving to Los Angeles. Potential tenants could include the San Diego Chargers, Minnesota Vikings, Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints.

On Tuesday, the NFL appointed a panel of team owners to explore putting a team back in the city.

The proposed stadium would be built in the South Park area of downtown, close to Staples and within walking distance of a light-rail station.

On Wednesday, the City Council gave final approval to a huge redevelopment plan for that area. Within that district, the city's redevelopment agency has the power to condemn land and force people to sell.

AEG has been quietly buying up land in the area for the last several months under a different name but has not yet acquired all the land it would need. The project envisions the city using its redevelopment authority to secure some of the land.

Ninety-five percent of the site is now parking or warehouse space, AEG officials said, and no private homes or apartments would be condemned.

Most council members cautiously support the stadium as long as the project doesn't require any city funds.

The panel voted 11-3 to establish the City Center Redevelopment Project, which would include 879 acres of housing and commercial development.

Councilman Dennis Zine, who voted against the redevelopment district, questioned whether a football stadium would improve the neighborhood.

"Is a new stadium going to help revitalize the area?" he asked. "I doubt it's going to provide housing for those who need it most."

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