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Testing Planned for Press Box at Coliseum

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TIMES STAFF WRITER

Executives of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission said Monday they will begin testing today to assess the soundness of the stadium’s new press box.

Without describing the type or extent of testing, the commission’s chairman and general manager said it is needed to address welding problems during construction of the press box that were brought to light this week.

It was reported in The Times that delayed cracking--a condition that experts say can indicate the welds’ susceptibility to fracture in an earthquake--was documented in reports by inspectors. But the inspectors’ observations of this and other problems with welded connections important to the support of the press box were not shared with the project’s structural engineer.

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The new testing will be conducted in part by Smith-Emery Co.--the firm responsible for inspecting the welding last year, said Coliseum Commission General Manager Patrick Lynch. In a memo to commission members, Lynch said that a “quick response” is needed because an exhibition soccer match is scheduled at the Coliseum on Wednesday night.

The president of Smith-Emery has said that every effort was made to repair and reinspect identified cracks and that he believes no significant defect was built into the structure. An executive of Herrick Corp., whose subsidiary made the welds at a steel shop near San Bernardino, has said that repairs were performed and that all of the work was done in accordance with contract requirements.

The press box, which overhangs hundreds of midfield seats, has been in use since the opening of the college football season last fall, although Smith-Emery has not certified that the steel work was performed properly. This has prevented the city from issuing an occupancy permit.

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Lynch told Coliseum commissioners that the staff has done what it could to uphold safety.

“The commission, managers or staff never have nor would ever put any tenant, customer or patron at risk,” Lynch wrote.

“We believe we have acted prudently throughout this matter, but as there is doubtless public perception that an unsafe condition may exist, we have no alternative than to revisit” what occurred during construction, he said.

Commission President Roger Kozberg said Monday that it would be “premature” to describe the type of testing that would be undertaken immediately. Kozberg said Smith-Emery’s work would be supervised by another consultant whom he said will be identified when the commission meets publicly Wednesday.

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County Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke, also a commission member, said Sunday that she wants Don C. Webb, who oversaw construction of the press box and the entire renovation of the Coliseum after the Northridge earthquake, to attend the session. The Coliseum renovation was paid for with nearly $100 million of federal emergency funds.

Another commission member, County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, said Monday that he will not be satisfied unless the strength of the press box welds are assessed.

“The Coliseum can spare no expense to determine the adequacy and the safety of that structure,” Yaroslavsky said, adding that he is interested in whether the construction was managed properly.

“I wonder what our [consultants] knew and when they knew it,” Yaroslavsky said.

* Times staff writer Kenneth Reich contributed to this story.

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