Mayor touts Coliseum plan

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who has expressed his desire to keep USC playing its football games in the Coliseum, issued the following letter to the members of the Coliseum Commission today as it met to discuss the relationship with USC. Villaraigosa outlines seven principles of a proposed agreement:

For eighty-five years, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum has been synonymous with Trojan Athletics. With this great university calling this great public building home, the public interest has been served in countless ways.

I believe that the future of the Los Angeles Coliseum is inconceivable without USC and I, therefore, urge the Coliseum Commission to immediately negotiate a long-term agreement with the University of Southern California based on the following rules of the game:

First, USC makes a long-term commitment to the Coliseum that will bring jobs and produce economic vitality in South Los Angeles long into the future.

Second, the Coliseum Commission and USC commit to a major renovation to bring the facility up to modern standards.

Third, the renovation efforts will give priority to necessary improvements in amenities serving the larger public, such as restrooms and concession areas.

Fourth, USC agrees to make a significant financial commitment to the restoration project.

Fifth, the Coliseum Commission and USC acknowledge that the Coliseum is a public treasure which belongs to all members of our community, and that opportunities for community access, use and enjoyment of the Coliseum in a variety of athletic, education and cultural events will be enhanced and improved.

Sixth, the Coliseum will be treated at all times as an historical landmark, and its architectural character shall be protected and preserved.

And seventh, any agreement will recognize a superseding interest in bringing the Olympic Games to the Coliseum.

I am committed to working together as teammates to get this agreement over the goal line.