Archer Aviation and AEG, a sports and live entertainment company, today announced a collaboration to develop a downtown Los Angeles’ vertiport at LA LIVE, AEG’s four-million-square-foot sports and entertainment district in downtown Los Angeles. The agreement, brokered by AEG Global Partnerships, makes Archer the exclusive air taxi partner of LA LIVE.
LA LIVE is a sports and live entertainment district which sits adjacent to The Los Angeles Convention Center and AEG-owned, Crypto.com Arena which is the official home of the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers, the NHL’s LA Kings and the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks, as well as host to hundreds of games, concerts and world-class live entertainment events each year.
“The planned site at LA LIVE will add a key downtown location to Archer’s previously announced Los Angeles network, giving fans, artists, and visitors the ability to travel to and from the district in Archer’s Midnight aircraft,” said Archer in a press statement.
“Designed for local, point-to-point urban air taxi travel, the goal of Archer’s planned LA network is to enable people to move across the city in just 10 to 20 minutes aboard Midnight, turning commutes that can take an hour or more on the ground into short all-electric flights. Archer has previously announced plans for its network to include SoFi Stadium, USC, and Hollywood Burbank, with Archer’s recently acquired Hawthorne Airport as its planned central operational hub. Midnight produces far less noise compared to a traditional helicopter and zero operating emissions. The aircraft is built with redundant systems allowing Archer to target safety at levels of commercial airliners.”
AEG and Archer have completed the initial feasibility study for the LA.LIVE site, including land-use and airspace reviews, power availability and community impact. The next phase, reviewing operational approach and guest experience, is currently underway as the partners work toward establishing the site as Los Angeles’ first downtown vertiport, said the press statement. The site is planned to be built with BETA Technologies’ electric aviation chargers as part of the companies’ recently announced ACES consortium, which aims to build the standardized charging foundation required to scale air taxi operations in and around major metropolitan areas.
The partnership supports Archer’s preparations in Los Angeles as the Official Air Taxi Provider of the LA28 Games and Team USA. Additionally, with the DTLA Zone hosting 18 sports across the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the project positions L.A. LIVE and downtown LA as a showcase for urban air mobility innovation ahead of the Games.
For more information
https://archer.com/news/aeg-and-archer-to-develop-vertiport-at-la-live-expanding-archers-la-network
(Image: Archer Aviation)