Agreement Pending on Final Obstacle to Coliseum Repairs

Moving toward resolution of the last big issue holding up the $50-million earthquake repair at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has submitted to the state a memorandum of agreement approving demolition of the badly damaged press box.

Cherilyn Widell, state historic preservation officer, said Tuesday that she expects the agreement to be signed by the end of the week by FEMA, the state Office of Emergency Services and the Coliseum Commission, thus clearing the way for the demolition.

At the Coliseum, repair project director Don C. Webb has been pushing for the demolition and complaining that some historic preservationists were dragging their feet on it. The memorandum “sounds like a very positive development,” he said, adding, that the proposed agreement had yet to reach the Coliseum Commission.

Widell said the memorandum acknowledges that the demolition would have an adverse impact on a historic feature of the stadium, which is a national historic landmark, but that FEMA views the action as necessary. She said the agreement does not deal with the question of a press box replacement.

The demolition, which Webb has said would take about a week, would clear the way for providing a temporary press facility at the stadium before its scheduled reopening Sept. 3.

At the 1984 Olympics, when the press box was used mainly by the television network covering the Games and by VIPs, most of the media representatives were located outdoors in specially converted seating below the press box. The nature of a temporary facility for the coming football season has not yet been announced.

Webb and prime repair contractor Ron Tutor have expressed concern that the press box, if not demolished, could appear to some spectators to be a safety hazard. They say it is unusable in its present state.

Linda Dishman, of the Los Angeles Conservancy, said Tuesday that the group does not oppose demolition of the press box.