A $1.3 billion plan to build a football stadium downtown and expand the Convention Center got a mostly positive reception at its first big public airing Wednesday night, as city officials repeated assertions that it would not cost taxpayers any money.

In fact, officials noted that it would likely save the city money because Anschutz Entertainment Group is helping pay for the Convention Center renovation, work that would otherwise cost the city substantial funds.

The Ad Hoc Committee on the Downtown Stadium and Event Center heard officials explain that steps were taken to protect the city in the plans for the domed facility with the capacity to seat 75,000 people.

"I cannot reasonably see a scenario where there is a risk to the city treasury," Chief Legislative Analyst Gerry Miller said. "There are points where the project could fail and the guarantees we are seeking are higher for that period. We will have a $50 million letter of credit, so our debt service is covered.

"Beyond that, we would be able to take control of the buildings, which would be somewhere between $300million and $400 million more than our bonds."

AEG would pay for stadium construction and guarantee some $285million in bonds to relocate the West Hall to Pico Boulevard.

Of that, some $80 million would be issued under the Mello-Roos Act - a state law in which taxes can be imposed on property owners in a specific district to help repay bond financing

Officials estimated the project could result in more than 6,000 permanent jobs. Councilman Bill Rosendahl asked that details be provided on the type of jobs to be created and the expected pay.

Copies of the MOU are available at downtownstadium.lacity.org. It also will be available via video from CityView.

A second hearing is planned for 5:30 p.m. today at Van Nuys City Hall, 14410 Sylvan St.

Most of Wednesday's hearing was dominated by a review of the MOU and questions from council members.

The majority of the speakers were AEG supporters, with only one person voicing strong criticism of the plan.

"You are moving too fast and too furious," said community activist Joyce Dillard to city officials. "There are a lot of things we don't know and won't know until the environmental impact report is completed.

"How much water will it take? How much power will be needed? You have to look at those issues before you can make a decision."

Without the AEG proposal, City Administrative Officer Miguel Santana told the panel the city would be looking at taking on the costs of refurbishing the West Hall on its own - a substantial cost with a direct hit to the city's general fund.

Leveraging the AEG proposal would allow the city to use its general fund for other services.

"This is an enormous burden on the general fund," Santana said. "This would free up money for our other critical services. We know remodeling will have to be done, and we are not in the position to do it at this point."

A key element is requiring AEG to build the new Pico Hall and two garages before it can build the stadium, Santana said.

Also, he said, there is an ambitious schedule for moving ahead with the project. If the City Council approves the MOU within the next two weeks, AEG would begin work on its EIR to be completed next May.

Construction would start next summer, with the opening of the new Pico Hall in 2013, and Farmers Field would be completed by 2016.

During the public hearing portion of the meeting, AEG brought together a number of supporters of the project, such as a youth group in the Pico-Union area and several minority business leaders - including Gene Hale of the African-American Chamber of Commerce, William Chip Brown of Big Man Bakery, Norma Gomez of the National Latina Business Woman's Association and Craig Tomiyoshi of the Asian Business Association.

It also had strong support from various labor organizations.