Contract Discloses Raiders May Not Owe Rent in 1994

The Raiders will play in a repaired Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum this fall, most likely rent-free, under the terms of the team’s one-year agreement with the Coliseum Commission disclosed Thursday.

Contrary to what Coliseum sources said earlier in the week about hundreds of thousands of dollars of 1994 rent going into a special fund to finance luxury boxes and other improvements, it turned out that in the fine print of the contract the Raiders are not required to pay any rent until major conditions are met.

These include a written agreement still to be negotiated between the team and the Coliseum Commission to bring the stadium and its surroundings in Exposition Park up to the level of other National Football League facilities, as well as a Raiders agreement on a long-term contract to play in the new stadium.

In 1990, the Raiders signed a renovation agreement, but it collapsed two years later because of the poor economy. It included forgiveness of all team debts, totaling $10 million, to the Coliseum Commission, and an immediate, non-refundable payment of another $10 million to the team by the Coliseum manager, Spectacor.

Reviewing the history of transactions with the Raiders on Thursday, two knowledgeable Coliseum officials said it is very likely that any new long-term agreement to be negotiated in the year ahead would include a similar forgiveness of debts, thus absolving the Raiders of having to pay any 1994 rent.

“This is rent we really do not expect to get,” said one of the officials, who declined to be identified. The other called it “a charity deal.”

In all of the Raiders’ negotiations with cities interested in wooing them, the team has insisted on some cash inducement to move. That was the rule in their talks with Irwindale, Oakland, Sacramento, Baltimore and other cities. The team got a $6.7-million loan, later forgiven, to move to Los Angeles.

The total $20 million in payments or credits already made to the Raiders by the Coliseum and its managers since the team began playing in the Coliseum in 1982 is more than twice the rent the Raiders have paid since coming to Los Angeles 12 years ago. So, on balance, they have been playing rent-free.

Coliseum officials have been trying without success since 1976 to assemble the millions of dollars of financing necessary to improve the stadium and Exposition Park to the level sought by the Rams before they departed and then by the Raiders when they arrived.

The Raiders are asking for luxury boxes, much more parking, security at Exposition Park and amenities at the stadium such as improved concessions.

The agreement announced Thursday also cuts the Raider share of day-of-the-game expenses from $60,000 last year to $25,000 this year, thus saddling the Coliseum administration with new charges that threaten its ability to turn a profit this year.

Under the agreement, however, the Coliseum will still receive a 50-50 split on concession revenues. The stadium’s general manager, Pat Lynch, estimated those to be an average of about $70,000 a game.

Lynch expressed some confidence the Coliseum could cut expenses and remain profitable. He noted that other events besides football are being solicited.

Under another provision, the Raiders could still move elsewhere for next season if the $42-million Coliseum earthquake repairs were not satisfactory and at least 67,500 seats were not ready to be occupied by Sept. 11, the date of the team’s regular season home opener against the Seattle Seahawks.

The new one-year agreement, with options for short-term renewals through 2006, was signed late Wednesday night by Los Angeles County Board Chairwoman Yvonne Brathwaite Burke, who is the commission president, and Raiders attorney Amy Trask. It is scheduled to be ratified by a full Coliseum Commission meeting July 6.

Given the Raiders’ constant talks about moving to other cities, Coliseum officials portray it as the best deal that they could work out with Al Davis, the team’s managing general partner.

Burke said at a Coliseum news conference Thursday: “We feel this agreement is a good one for the city and county, the Raiders organization and, of course, Raiders fans throughout Southern California.

“In the coming months, the Coliseum Commission hopes to initiate negotiations toward an agreement with the Raiders that will establish a long-term relationship for the team in L.A.,” she added. “(We) will move swiftly to identify the resources needed to upgrade the Coliseum so the stadium will be ranked among the best in the world.”

The Raiders issued a written statement that said in part:

“In March, we announced that the Raiders were in Los Angeles and that we wanted to stay in Los Angeles, but that there was a tremendous cloud of uncertainty with respect to the Coliseum situation.

“That cloud of uncertainty has been lifted insofar as we have received assurances that the . . . Coliseum will be ready for our 1994 season. We have made a commitment for the 1994 season.”

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