Stadiums Begin Their Tug of War

Officially, all they knew was that Seattle’s Seahawks were vowing to fly the coop. Word was, they wanted to land in Los Angeles. But where? That was the question, and grown men were sitting by their phones on Friday, waiting to find out.

“I’ve tried to call their number in Seattle, but all I get is a busy signal,” said Los Angeles City Council President John Ferraro, who is also chairman of the Coliseum Commission.

“If they call, we’ll talk,” said an eager Al Moses, president of the nonprofit company that manages Pasadena’s Rose Bowl.

There is nothing like a restless professional football franchise to put some spark into the rumor mill. But as speculation over the proposed move from Seattle continued Friday, city politicians and stadium administrators throughout the Southland began to settle into the more serious political mechanics of NFL resettlement.

The owner of the Seahawks said Friday that he plans to move and rename the team, but did not say where he would relocate.

Earlier this week, Seahawk employees said they were told the team would be practicing at Rams Park in Anaheim, but other reports from Seattle had the team playing next season in the Rose Bowl, which Rose Bowl administrators denied. Meanwhile, the manager of Los Angeles’ Coliseum reminded them that stadium was available too. And the NFL, for its part, was insisting that no one was moving anywhere for now--an assertion that everyone, everywhere blithely ignored.

Locally, the early betting was that the Rose Bowl would be Seattle’s first choice as an interim home. Pasadena has for months touted its city-owned stadium to the NFL as a good temporary site for any football franchise the league might want to bring into the Los Angeles area. Last summer, the city hired a well-connected lawyer, Ron Olson, to negotiate in Pasadena’s behalf with the NFL.

Home to five Super Bowls and the 1984 Olympic and 1994 World Cup soccer tournaments, the Rose Bowl has ample seating and a respectable number of the lucrative luxury boxes that are so coveted by NFL teams. But the Rose Bowl is also surrounded by hundreds of noise-hating neighbors in ivy-covered mansions and designer bungalows.

To satisfy neighborhood concerns, a Pasadena ordinance limits the Rose Bowl to a dozen major events a year, with major defined as any event that draws a crowd of 20,000 or more. The city council, however, has frequently overridden that ordinance for concerts and sporting events, such as the World Cup, that were deemed worthwhile.

Then too, the Rose Bowl already is home to Major League Soccer’s Los Angeles Galaxy, which will play 16 league games and three international games there starting April 13.

And with UCLA playing all its home games at the Rose Bowl--at least five games and frequently six--a pro football team would be unable to squeeze its eight-game regular-season schedule under the 12-event limit, to say nothing of exhibitions and playoff games. In any case, any move to bring in an NFL team, even temporarily, would have to be sold to the neighborhood, officials said.

“There’s already the traffic, the noise, the aircraft, the crowds, the security problems, more traffic,” said Nina Chomsky, president of the Linda Vista-Annandale Assn., one of the more vocal homeowners’ groups near the stadium.

“Now,” Chomsky fumed, “we’re talking about jacking up the use to include a quote-unquote ‘temporary’ NFL team. Well, what does that mean? Are they going to come down here hoping someone will build them a stadium? They could be here 10 years waiting for such a thing.”

Another neighbor, former Rose Bowl Operating Committee member Penny York, said it would all boil down to whether the city could limit disruption.

“It’s going to hinge on two things,” York said. “How much trouble is it going to be, and will the trouble be worth the cost?”

And there are other considerations, Rose Bowl officials said. For example, the city has to consider the golfers at the adjacent Brookside public golf course, which gets turned into a parking lot whenever the bowl has a major event. More big football crowds mean fewer golfing days.

The arrival of a professional team also could affect long-sought plans to refurbish the seats, scoreboard, bathrooms and entryways of the 70-year-old stadium. The city has pledged a $22.5-million face-lift, but the actual work is months away and faced several rounds of public debate even before this latest development.

Leaders of the Coliseum camp, however, said the team formerly known as the Seahawks could begin play in their facility almost immediately--and would be welcomed, even if their stay would only be temporary.

“It puts them right in the heart of the L.A. market, as opposed to the Rose Bowl, which only gives them a transitional site,” said Councilman Mike Hernandez, who has opposed the construction of a new stadium near Dodger Stadium, in his district.

But Hernandez said he would prefer having an expansion franchise, and warned that the rising competition among venues transforms Southern California into an extremely friendly marketplace for a team owner.

“It puts the owner of the Seahawks into an excellent negotiating position,” he said. “He’s in the driver’s seat.”

Ferraro acknowledged that the Coliseum still needs luxury boxes and other revenue- generating facilities to entice potential tenants.

But he said the Coliseum has a number of advantages over its Pasadena rival, such as its more central location, better restrooms, a newer scoreboard and the fact that offering it to a new team does not require a nod from the Los Angeles City Council, where battles over stadium sites have been fierce.

“We don’t have to get approval from the community like they will in Pasadena,” he said.

Ferraro said a few Los Angeles investors initiated talks with the Seattle franchise about a month ago, after abandoning a short-lived effort to buy all or part of the Arizona Cardinals. But it was unclear what, if any, role they might play if owner Ken Behring retains control of the team.

Pat Lynch, general manager of the Coliseum, said marketing packets were sent to every potentially migratory team owner several months ago.

“Whoever has the teams [is] still in control, and that will probably always be the case,” he said.

* Staff writer Kenneth Reich contributed to this story.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

A Look at the Seattle Seahawks

1974 -- The NFL announces Seattle will have a franchise for the 1976 season.

1975 -- John Thompson, executive director of the NFL Management Council, named Seattle general manager. Nickname Seahawks selected from contest entries. Seahawks agree to 20-year lease to play all home games in the Kingdome.

1976 -- Jack Patera, defensive line coach of the Minnesota Vikings, named head coach. Seahawks participate in first college draft. Open training camp at Eastern Washington University in Cheney.

1977 -- Seahawks play host to Pro Bowl and game is first sellout in 27-year history.

1979 -- Steve Largent catches record-equaling five passes as Seattle’s first representative to the Pro Bowl.

1982 -- Mike McCormack, former head coach with the Philadelphia Eagles and Baltimore Colts, is named director of football operations. Later named interim head coach after the firing of Jack Patera and general manager John Thompson.

1983 -- McCormack named president and general manager. Chuck Knox hired as head coach. Seahawks clinch first playoff berth, beat Miami in divisional playoff.

1984 -- Seahawks lose to Los Angeles Raiders in AFC championship game to end 1983 season. Make playoffs again after 1984 season.

1987 -- Seahawks capture playoff berth.

1988 -- Seahawks close out 1987 season with loss to Houston Oilers in AFC first-round playoff game. Ken Behring and Ken Hoffman complete purchase of team from Nordstrom family. Seahawks defeat Los Angeles Raiders to win AFC West title after 1988 season. Eliminated from playoffs by eventual AFC champion Cincinnati Bengals.

1989 -- Tom Flores named president and general manager, replacing Mike McCormack.

1991 -- Seahawks and Chuck Knox agree to mutually end Knox’s nine-year tenure as head coach.

1992 -- Tom Flores is named president and head coach.

1993 -- David Behring, son of majority owner Ken Behring, is named team president. Tom Flores is named general manager-head coach.

1994 -- Tom Flores is relieved of his duties as general manager-head coach.

1995 -- Dennis Erickson, coach of the University of Miami, is named head coach of the Seahawks. Wide receiver Steve Largent becomes first Seahawk elected to Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Facts and Figures

1976

Record: 2-12

Finish: 5th, NFC West

*

1977

Record: 5-9

Finish: 4th, AFC West

*

1978

Record: 9-7

Finish: 3rd

*

1979

Record: 9-7

Finish: 3rd

*

1980

Record: 4-12

Finish: 3rd

*

1981

Record: 6-10

Finish: 5th

*

1982

Record: 4-5

Finish: 10th

*

1983

Record: 9-7

Finish: 2nd

*

1984

Record: 12-4

Finish: 2nd

*

1985

Record: 8-8

Finish: 2nd

*

1986

Record: 10-6

Finish: 3rd

*

1987

Record: 9-6

Finish: 2nd

*

1988

Record: 9-7

Finish: 1st

*

1989

Record: 7-9

Finish: 4th

*

1990

Record: 9-7

Finish: 3rd

*

1991

Record: 7-9

Finish: 4th

*

1992

Record: 2-14

Finish: 5th

*

1993

Record: 6-10

Finish: 5th

*

1994

Record: 6-10

Finish: 5th

*

1995

Record: 8-8

Finish: 4th

Additional Coverage

* ON THE MOVE

The Seattle Seahawks are leaving their name, logo and uniforms behind, presumably to become the Los Angeles Whatevers once a legal tangle of dueling lawsuits is resolved in Washington. A1

* MONEY TALKS

The NFL has explicit procedures for franchise relocation, but for the right amount of money, those guidelines can--and have--been overlooked. A18

* NEW TEAM IN TOWN

No matter where they play or what they are called in 1996, this unpredictable team could either win the AFC West or finish in last place. C8

* NO GREAT LOSS

Seattle never embraced Seahawk owner Ken Behring, who was always considered a rich California land developer. C9

* SEAHAWK CHRONOLOGY: C8-9