3 Keys to Core Revitalization: Detail, Detail and Detail

Downtown Los Angeles is reemerging as the focus of several ambitious and thoughtful redevelopment plans. Serious talk in recent weeks of modernizing the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in an effort to lure a new pro football team is the latest good news. The spirit of cooperation displayed by city officials and private developers on this and other projects is all too rare here. But as various plans become ever more elaborate, the risks for taxpayers multiply. The need now is for responsible financial planning by local officials and the utmost candor with the public.

On Monday, Dodger owner Peter O’Malley added his endorsement to plans for the Coliseum site; he had previously contemplated building a football field next to Dodger Stadium. O’Malley’s strong reputation in the sports world and his personal relationships with National Football League owners made his support for this project a key to its potential success. So did promises from the chairman of Hollywood Park and a group of investors interested in building a stadium at the Convention Center, next to a proposed hockey and basketball arena, not to offer their own proposals until the NFL had thoroughly considered the Coliseum site.

Plans presently envision constructing a state-of-the-art stadium within the Coliseum’s historic exterior rather than renovating the aging landmark. That makes sense. Angelenos have an understandable attachment to the site of the 1932 and 1984 Olympic Games and the onetime home of the Rams and Raiders pro football teams. And it certainly makes more financial sense to use this under-booked venue, which is centrally located, than to build an entirely new facility somewhere else.

Gathering momentum for Coliseum reconstruction--and for an NFL football franchise--can also enhance prospects for other major development projects planned or underway in the area. Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas envisions a revitalized “Figueroa Corridor,” running from Dodger Stadium in the north to the Coliseum at Exposition Park at the southern end and encompassing the Convention Center and the proposed adjacent hockey and basketball arena, hotels, restaurants, shops and theaters. Add the proposed Disney Concert Hall (whose backers are still hopeful they will raise enough funds to begin construction), the Roman Catholic cathedral to be constructed along Temple Street, between Grand Avenue and Hill Street, and plans for a series of pedestrian ways and open spaces linking downtown attractions.

The result could be a true renaissance for the city’s long neglected, much derided core area. But the enthusiasm should not mask the need for firm commitments and solid assurances to taxpayers. Individually, these projects will be expensive; cumulatively, if not meticulously considered, they could prove to be a huge burden to taxpayers. Cities like Cleveland and Toronto have taken a bath as a result of financial commitments made to team owners and stadium developers. Public officials must not let that happen here.

Plans for both the sports arena and the Coliseum will be formalized by late October. Promoters face hurdles with team owners, private developers and the City Council. The people of Los Angeles must be told clearly and repeatedly why these proposed developments are indeed in the interest of the public--not just that of private parties. Our advice: detail, detail, detail.