Traveling to and from Crypto.com Arena is about to look a lot different for Los Angeles residents. On Monday (Aug. 24), AEG announced a partnership with Archer Aviation to develop a vertiport (a vertical takeoff and landing site for electric air taxis) for AEG’s sports and entertainment district, L.A. Live. As the first vertiport in Downtown Los Angeles, the site at L.A. Live would expand Archer’s planned air taxi network before the 2028 L.A. Olympics and Paralympics.
With Peacock Theater, The Novo, Regal L.A. LIVE cinemas, the GRAMMY Museum, The Los Angeles Convention Center and Crypto.com Arena in the vicinity, L.A. Live welcomes millions of visitors a year and this new partnership will make Archer the exclusive air taxi partner of the entertainment campus. The vertiport will add to Archer’s planned network which includes takeoff and landing locations at Los Angeles International Airport, University of Southern California, Orange County, Santa Monica, Hollywood Burbank, Long Beach and Van Nuys. Archer is also coordinating with the Los Angeles Rams and Hollywood Park, the 300-acre district centered around SoFi Stadium, for a potential exclusive vertiport in the area.
AEG Global Partnerships president and COO Nick Baker tells Billboard the Archer collaboration is in the first phase of development, with logistics of the specific location and permits for the vertiport expected to be decided on soon. The two entities have completed the initial feasibility study for the L.A. Live site, including land-use and airspace reviews, power availability and community impact.
“We quickly were amazed by the breadth and scope of [Archer’s] current infrastructure and their plans for Los Angeles in particular,” says Baker. “The combination of our real estate footprint and the incredible content that we put through this real estate was a perfect match for what they’re trying to do in the near future.”
Archer’s goal is to begin its L.A. network operations this year with plenty of time to have it fully functioning for the 2028 Olympics. The aviation company plans to operate a fleet of their Midnight aircrafts, which hold one pilot and four passengers, throughout Southern California. The Midnight aircraft is designed to share the same airspace as helicopters and small planes, but Archer states that the air taxis are quieter at cruising altitudes and their aircrafts will be all-electric.
With speeds up to 150 mph, the Midnight aircrafts are expected to get across the county in 10 to 20 minutes versus usual L.A. traffic times. For the air taxis, Archer is targeting pricing that’s similar to what consumers would pay for a premium rideshare today such as an Uber Black and, as the company scales the fleet and grows the network, Archer expects costs to come down “significantly.”
“To ease that burden of how you’re traveling to and from opens up the opportunity for us to serve more fans who maybe are in a location that is far to travel via vehicle to L.A. Live for an event that they want to attend,” Baker says. “[Los Angeles] is the most competitive sports and entertainment market in the world, and there’s probably a close second in New York City; but the difference there is the density, and we compete more with the weather. Because there are days when it’s 85 degrees and perfect on the beach, and it’s hard pressed to go an hour and a half in the car to an event. But if you could go to that event in 15 minutes, would you go?”
AEG and Archer plan to have the air taxis running as a well-oiled machine by the 2028 Olympics and Paralympics by making the service available to every kind of event happening at L.A. Live from basketball and hockey games to concerts and special events like the Grammy and BET Awards.
The next phase for the network is reviewing operational approach and guest experience, which is currently underway. The site is planned to be built with BETA’s electric aviation chargers with the hope of building the standardized charging foundation required to scale air taxi operations in and around major metropolitan areas.
With a portfolio of more than 100 venues around the globe, Baker says the Archer partnership could be introduced at more AEG facilities in the future. “Anytime we find a company who is an expert in an innovative category and can deliver upon that in our initial partnership, which in this case would be L.A. Live, we then think about how we could deploy that across our global portfolio and footprint of entertainment real estate districts that we own and control throughout the world,” says Baker. “So, there is absolutely great opportunity for future growth of this partnership.”
