MCA/Spectacor to Take Over L.A. Coliseum : Football: Commission agrees to let private manager operate the facility. Raiders owner Davis has a talk with Bradley at the mayor’s residence.

In the political equivalent of a Hail Mary pass, the Coliseum Commission on Monday agreed to a plan that would place the historic stadium under private management in the hopes of persuading Los Angeles Raiders owner Al Davis to change his mind about moving to Oakland.

With a behind-the-scenes push from Mayor Tom Bradley, the commission agreed to lease the Coliseum to entertainment conglomerate MCA/Spectacor Inc., which said Monday that it was prepared to spend more than $155 million to renovate the facility’s aging interior.

But Spectacor said its offer, which would not require the use of taxpayer funds, was contingent on either the Raiders or another professional football team playing in the Coliseum. Davis for years has been demanding Coliseum improvements, and negotiators hope that the commission’s action Monday will mollify him.

“I think it (the agreement) makes it a very high probability that we can keep the Raiders,” Commissioner Dick Riordan predicted after the 7-0 vote. “If I were Davis, I’d make a deal right now.”

Riordan said Davis, whose announced return to Oakland has been met with broad opposition, could sign a contract with MCA/Spectacor to remain in Los Angeles “in the next few days.”

Negotiators here have been working around the clock to capitalize on the resistance Davis has encountered in his proposed $660-million deal with Oakland. Among other things, politicians and community leaders there have launched a petition drive to put the deal before the city’s voters. The critics mostly fear that taxpayers could end up subsidizing the team if ticket sales fail to generate the amount of money Oakland has promised Davis.

Despite the optimism of Los Angeles officials, the city of Oakland’s chief policy analyst said Monday that Davis has not indicated that he is retreating.

“We have his (Davis’) moral commitment,” said analyst Ezra Rapport, “and the Raiders are continuing to work with us toward a successful conclusion of a transaction.”

Nonetheless, during the past week, the unpredictable and cagey owner of the Raiders has had a series of conversations with Los Angeles negotiators in which he has voiced reservations about a return to Oakland, where the team was based for years, according to sources familiar with talks.

On Sunday evening, Davis met with Bradley at the mayor’s mansion in Hancock Park, where the two men discussed the problems in Oakland and what could be done to keep the team here. It was Davis who requested the meeting.

The mayor said Monday that he informed Davis of the intensive efforts between the Coliseum Commission and Spectacor to reach an agreement that would lead to the construction of higher-priced “club seats” and “luxury suites” in the 67-year-old Coliseum, while retaining the facility’s picturesque peristyle and exterior walls.

After the commission’s vote, the mayor personally telephoned Davis to inform him of the action, a source familiar with the conversation said. The source described the Raider owner as impressed and pleased.

The mayor also issued a statement to the news media in which he said, “This football game is tied in the fourth quarter and the fate of the Raiders is still undecided.” He called the Spectacor agreement a “landmark,” giving Los Angeles a “state-of-the-art facility, a guaranteed rent and a percentage of any profits.”

Under the so-called Memorandum of Agreement, Spectacor would obtain a 20-year lease to run the Coliseum, with an option for an additional 20 years. The company will pay a minimum rent of $1 million that will escalate each year with inflation. It also agreed to share a percentage of gross revenues from the 15,000 club seats and 240 luxury suites to be built.

For its part, the commission agreed to use the money it earns from the contract to improve the Exposition Park area, site of the Coliseum. The commission also promised to lend Spectacor $15 million at an interest rate of 7% once the construction is set to begin.

Spectacor, which will now negotiate directly with Davis, is said to be willing to pay the team up to $20 million in “good faith money” to stay in Los Angeles.

Times staff writer Maura Dolan contributed to this report.