Pasadena Offers Support for Revamped Coliseum

Pasadena officials Tuesday presented the National Football League with a letter to Los Angeles’ mayor endorsing a revamped Coliseum as the future home of the region’s professional football franchise and offering the Rose Bowl as an interim site.

The letter, approved Monday night by the Pasadena City Council, is the latest move in an effort by Pasadena to boost a joint bid by the city and Los Angeles to lure either the 1999 or 2000 Super Bowl to the Rose Bowl. Rose Bowl officials said that without an NFL team in the region, the stadium is unlikely to get any Super Bowls.

Pasadena joins a bandwagon of support for a new stadium inside the historic Coliseum walls.

The letter, addressed to Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan and Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas, was taken up as a last-minute agenda item by the council without public notice. It is a boost for Los Angeles’ efforts to bring an NFL franchise back to the city, but some neighbors of the Rose Bowl saw it as a slap in the face.

They take particular exception to the idea of a professional football team playing in the Rose Bowl for a few years, in addition to a calendar that includes UCLA football, the Los Angeles Galaxy soccer team, the annual Rose Bowl game and concerts.

“This letter seems to bind Pasadena. The city of Los Angeles and NFL will rely on this statement,” said Nina Chomsky, a former president of Linda Vista/Annandale Assn. “I cannot believe they did this without notice. They need to do a full environmental study before anything happens.”

While some council members are cheering the prospect of more revenue-producing events, Chomsky said she is wondering just how far the city will go. A city ordinance allows 12 events yearly with attendance of 20,000 or more at the stadium; this year there will be 17 such events.

Others see the potential for litigation. Penny York, former Rose Bowl Operating Co. vice chairwoman and neighborhood advocate, said the city can expect a lawsuit unless it does an environmental study before bringing a temporary NFL team to the bowl.

Nonetheless, Councilwoman Ann-Marie Villicana, who represents residents west of the bowl, said the letter does not mean the city would not negotiate terms before taking an NFL team.

The council gave its unanimous endorsement to the letter. But Councilwoman Joyce Streator, who represents residents east of the bowl, voiced concerns about traffic, noise and other problems for the neighborhoods around the bowl.