Coliseum Is No-Go, NFL Says : Pro football: League will not put team there, Ferraro says, city’s best bet is to support O’Malley’s proposal.

The NFL has delivered a message to those interested in the return of football to Los Angeles: Forget the Coliseum.

John Ferraro, president of the Los Angeles City Council as well as the Coliseum Commission, said he was told this week by league officials that the Coliseum will not be considered as a permanent venue for football.

Ferraro said the city should move on rather than fight the league. He said if a new stadium is to be built, it should be in Los Angeles, and with that in mind he will support Dodger owner Peter O’Malley in his quest for football.

“The NFL doesn’t seem to think the Coliseum is the right area to have a stadium; I think they’re wrong,” Ferraro said.

“I think the Coliseum is a wonderful thing, and I don’t want to do anything to knock that, but . . . it’s not going to be acceptable to some people, some people being the National Football League, and that is a very important group of people to have some opposition to it. . . .

“The NFL is against the Coliseum, but I’d like to see a stadium and I’d like to see it in Los Angeles. [The Dodger Stadium site] is very appealing. The city councilman from that district has some concerns, but I think problems can be worked out. Peter O’Malley is a very decent guy, and he was taught a long time ago by his father not to steal clients from the Coliseum. Well, we don’t have a client that he’s stealing.”

Jerry Richardson, owner of the Carolina Panthers and chairman of the NFL’s Stadium Committee, has taken a tour of all existing sites, including the Coliseum, in the greater Los Angeles area. And he’s convinced that if football is to be successful in Los Angeles, a state-of-the-art facility will have to be built.

“It doesn’t make sense to us to think about going to Los Angeles unless we can create the absolute best environment for fans,” Richardson said. “Los Angeles is a very special city, we have had good experiences there with Super Bowls, but it just doesn’t make sense to go back with warmed over, renovated stadiums.”

Is there any way in which the Coliseum could be brought up to NFL standards? “I don’t think so,” Richardson said.

Ferraro said the NFL’s disenchantment with the Coliseum, includes its undeclared objections to its surrounding community.

“The NFL won’t say it publicly,” Ferraro said, “but why did Carroll Rosenbloom [former Ram owner] leave L.A.? He didn’t like the area. . . .

“But did you know a couple of weeks ago we had a USC-UCLA game over there with 90,000 people? Tailgate parties all over, right next to each other and no fights, no arrests. San Diego played there a year ago and Raider fans beat up the San Diego fans. It’s the crowd, not the area.”

The area is undergoing considerable improvement with new freeway access, $130 million in museum and Exposition Park development and talk of a $15-million to $25-million community center.

“I think you have good leadership on the Coliseum Commission,” Mayor Richard Riordan said, “and they will find very good uses for the Coliseum if the NFL is not interested in playing there.”

Coliseum officials recently sent crime statistics, a financial analysis of the Coliseum and a videotape detailing improvements and plans for the addition of 108 luxury suites and a parking garage to each NFL owner.

The Coliseum also has undergone more than $115 million in stadium work since 1993, although much of that money was spent on work underground to repair the historical monument from earthquake damage.

Pat Lynch, general manager of the Coliseum, said he’s aware of the NFL’s sentiments. “That’s disappointing to us; I don’t know if enough analysis has been done to dismiss us.

“Sure, we need a lot of things. We need the revenue-producing amenities, the fan-comfort amenities, the amenities an owner needs to make money. We agree we’re not there, but we can get there much cheaper and easier than anyone else.”

Although the NFL is not interested in the Coliseum, the facility will continue to conduct business.

“USC is very happy with the Coliseum and is ready to sign a 10-year lease,” Ferraro said. “I’m proud of our stadium, but we can’t force the NFL to play in the Coliseum.”