Raiders Losing Patience Over Coliseum Renovation : Sports: Team says the facility’s private manager, Spectacor, has not fulfilled commitments to begin work. Speculation that the club may leave is revived.

For the first time since the Los Angeles Raiders agreed two years ago to keep playing in the Coliseum, the team is publicly complaining that commitments to renovate the 70-year-old facility have not been kept, reviving speculation that it could move.

The comments by a Raider attorney late Tuesday were followed Wednesday with confirmation from the Coliseum’s private managers, the Spectacor partnership, that “major structural changes in the facility are highly unlikely to be done this coming year,” as planned.

Joseph Cohen, Spectacor’s senior representative on the West Coast, said the private managers still hope that some of the renovation will be possible, “such as improvement and enhancement of locker rooms, restrooms, concession stands and other key public areas.”

But, he said, the main elements of the proposed renovation, including lowering the football field, putting thousands of seats closer to the action and building luxury boxes and club seats probably won’t begin in 1993.

Through lawyer Amy Trask, the Raiders expressed disappointment that talks between Los Angeles Coliseum commissioners and the Spectacor partnership on financing have made no progress on a start date for the renovation.

“Commitments that were made to us have not been met, although we have been repeatedly assured for quite some time that those commitments would be met,” Trask said.

Trask, said nothing about the team moving. But the Raiders conducted a public exploration of moving to either Sacramento or Oakland two and three years ago, and Coliseum Commission President William Robertson said Wednesday he has “a personal, inherent fear” that the team will leave if the renovation does not go forward.

Meanwhile, Cohen took issue with the Raiders’ contention that Spectacor has failed to keep its commitments, saying that the firm “has consistently honored all its commitments to the Raiders organization.”

He said that while the project has been delayed, Spectacor has “a proposed revised plan” in which the renovations will be completed.

On Sept. 11, 1990, Davis signed a contract with Spectacor. The terms of the agreement have never been revealed, but it has been reported that the Raiders agreed to stay in the Coliseum on the condition that the aging facility would be renovated using private financing.

However, a poor economy, repeated shake-ups in Spectacor’s ownership and management, and an inability to sell proposed $90,000-a-year luxury boxes and $3,600 club seats have put the project on hold indefinitely.

Robertson and N. Matthew Grossman, Coliseum commissioners who have been attempting to negotiate a renovation plan, said Wednesday they take the new Raider statement “very seriously.”

“I would assume that public comments of that kind reflect Mr. Davis’ thinking, and to me that’s a great concern, because he is a very important tenant,” Grossman said.

On a start date for the renovation, Grossman said: “I can’t say if it’s too late to do anything for next season, but I would certainly like to do something, whatever may be possible.”