Cooke’s Recipe for Redskin Stadium Doesn’t Include PSLs

Jack Kent Cooke, the man who supposedly overpaid in spending $5,175,000 to buy the Lakers in 1965 and then had the Forum built in 53 weeks, continues to charge forward with a sports vision all his own.

Cooke, who was owner of both the Lakers and the Kings, could not strike a deal with Coliseum Commission officials on a lease for his team almost 30 years ago, so he built the first privately funded indoor arena in the United States for more than $16 million.

As current owner of the Washington Redskins, Cooke ran into more political gobbledygook so he found a wide-open expanse of land in Maryland and began spending his own money on the construction of a football stadium. Now 20% complete, “it will open,” he decreed this week, before the start of the 1997 season.

Cooke did not threaten to move his Redskins to St. Louis or Nashville. He did not demand sweetheart deals from local government, but instead committed $160 million of his own money to build a 76,600-seat stadium down the Capital Beltway to replace RFK. He will also spend $4.6 million to build a community recreation center. The state of Maryland has agreed to contribute $76 million for the construction of access roads and parking lots.

In the most startling move of all, Cooke insisted there be no personal seat licenses sold in his stadium, although every Redskin game since 1964 has sold out and there is a waiting list of 42,000 for Redskins’ tickets.

“I don’t like spending the money for something in the first place, let alone twice,” Cooke said. “It is such an imposition on the rabid fan, who is almost willing to do anything to buy a ticket, to charge them a personal-seat-license fee.”

PSLs, which require fans to pay a one-time fee for the right to buy season tickets, have been used to finance stadiums and compensate owners in St. Louis, Carolina, Baltimore, Nashville, Oakland and now Cleveland.

“It’s unconscionable,” said Cooke, who received $67.5 million in cash for the Lakers, Kings, the Forum and a 13,000-acre cattle ranch in 1979. “When the thought passed through my mind it passed with such swiftness that there was practically no trace of such a thought.”

Cooke, 84, says Los Angeles must have a football team. But he added, “This stadium is the last building I am going to build.”

But if he had the chance in L.A., what would he do?

“I’d go into the Valley and find the biggest piece of land I could find,” he said. “I remember there’s a piece of land by a huge reservoir--you have to have that land for parking. And I’d build a football stadium, and immediately adjacent to it I’d build an arena.”

But what about all the hoopla surrounding the proposal to build a new football stadium within the shell of the Coliseum?

“I don’t think that’s right at all,” he said. “No parking. Half the fun of going to these games is the tailgate parties. I’d find a piece of land that has parking for 25,000 cars.

“Southern California must have an NFL franchise or two. What a pity, what’s happened. I dare say if you built a 76,000-seat stadium for football and soccer out there, the thing would be a raving success.

“I know Peter O’Malley [Dodger owner] is a first-class fella, and you would never catch him selling PSLs. And that would be the perfect spot for a football stadium.”

Not shy with opinions, Cooke, a former encyclopedia salesman from Canada, evokes all kinds of emotion in the Washington area. His troubled personal life, which includes his fourth wife, 40 years his junior and a convicted drug dealer, who was arrested after speeding down Georgetown streets with a young man hanging onto the hood of her Jaguar, has made as many headlines as his football team, which has won three Super Bowls during his 22-year reign as majority owner.

“Up until 1994 [when a new TV contract kicked in] we consistently lost money with the Redskins,” Cooke said. “We had the smallest stadium, no super boxes, no club seats, no share of the parking, no share of the advertising and no share of concessions.

“I became the only subsidizer of the football team and each year paid a good deal of money to keep the company fluid.”

Cooke came close several times to striking a deal for a new stadium in the Washington area until he finally became frustrated and went his own way.

Cooke has already incorporated the area around the new stadium, and has called it “Raljon, Md.,” in honor of sons Ralph and John.

“There are so many ways to get things done, but the best is just doing it yourself,” Cooke said. “They said it was impossible for me to build a football stadium privately and so quickly. That’s what they said when I set out to build the Forum, and wasn’t that just fabulous?”

IN QUOTATION MARKS

After Detroit linebacker Pepper Johnson ran through a block by Tampa Bay fullback Scott Alstott, Johnson yelled, “You come back here again and I’ll stunt your growth.”

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If the Denver Broncos win Sunday against the Chargers, expect them to credit linebacker Junior Seau, who gave them bulletin-board material this week. “[Coach Mike Shanahan] is receiving a lot out of average players and they are performing over their level. . . . You don’t have a lot of big names in the sense of your superstar quotas.”

Big names? John Elway, Anthony Miller, Terrell Davis, Michael Dean Perry, Shannon Sharpe, Steve Atwater . . .

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Check out Sunday’s result between Houston and Cincinnati: “I know their defense like the back of my hand,” said Bengal quarterback Jeff Blake. “This is a great opportunity for us to come out of our slump.”

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Pittsburgh quarterback Mike Tomczak revealed recently that former teammate Jeff Fisher, who is now Houston’s coach, had the nickname “Guppy.” Houston linebacker Micheal Barrow was asked if any players called Fisher Guppy. “He told us in the team meeting that anybody calling him Guppy would end up like Jeff George,” Barrow said.

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The Baltimore Ravens were reportedly interested in suspended Atlanta quarterback George, but owner Art Modell nixed that idea. “George would rather play for Ted Marchibroda than any other coach in football. I’ve been told that many times,” Modell said. “It doesn’t alter our stance. We feel that [Vinny] Testaverde can lead us to glorious victories.” Too much sun in Baltimore?

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In the last year, the Rams have traded Jerome Bettis, Sean Gilbert, Todd Kinchen and Troy Drayton. “If I was in charge of the personnel, I don’t think I would be making the same moves,” said cornerback Todd Lyght. So maybe he should be in charge.

EXTRA POINTS

--In beating the Rams 12 consecutive times, the 49ers have allowed them to score only two first-quarter touchdowns, and have maintained an average halftime lead of 14 points.

--With the trade of tight end Drayton to Miami this week, only 20 games into their St. Louis experience, the Rams’ 53-man roster includes only 15 players who played for the team in Los Angeles. Only two of the 23 players drafted in 1992 and 1993--reserve offensive linemen Darryl Ashmore and Chuck Belin--remain with the team.

--In getting ready for the Raiders, the Bears’ defensive coaches offered their players $20 if they could induce teammate Rashaan Salaam to fumble. “Nobody collected,” said Salaam, who had fumbled 10 times in 17 regular-season games. And against the Raiders? He did not fumble.

--Former players have been hired by the NFL to pinpoint players who aren’t wearing their uniforms properly. The fine for wearing non-sanctioned logo shoes or clothes is $10,000.

--Arizona quarterback Boomer Esiason gets 25 pages in the Arizona Cardinals’ media guide. Kent Graham, who is being paid the NFL minimum of $275,000 and who is now starting for Esiason, gets two pages.

Esiason keeps working too. He spotted the Rams’ defensive ends pinching inside and advised Graham to call “Run 98” in overtime last week. Graham did and running back LeShon Johnson went 66 yards to set up a game-winning field goal.

--The Ravens-Saints game drew a better TV rating last week in Cleveland, former home of the Ravens/Browns, than in Baltimore.

TROUBLE AHEAD

--Carolina surrendered five sacks to Jacksonville, has further injury problems in the offensive line, and now faces the Vikings, who lead the NFL with 19 sacks.

--Elvis Grbac, who may be the 49ers’ quarterback of the future, appears to prefer J.J. Stokes over Jerry Rice.

“You’ve got to give him a shot,” Grbac said. “J.J. is one of my favorite wide receivers, so I’m going to use him.”

As for Rice, he says, “J.R. is in a class of his own, but just looking to the future, I like J.J. I like the way he works.”

--If a neck injury keeps Erik Kramer from returning this season as the Bears’ starting quarterback, do they go with Dave Krieg, Steve Stenstrom and Mark Butterfield the rest of the way? The Bears liked Mark Rypien, but he signed with Philadelphia. Next on their list: Hugh Millen. Vince Evans and Randall Cunningham said they were available, but the Bears said no, thanks.

--Keep a trading deadline eye--Tuesday--on Philadelphia running back Charlie Garner, who after rushing for 48 yards in 13 carries in the opener, has disappeared. Garner has had five carries in the last four games. A year ago, he averaged 5.4 yards a carry.

--Looking to improve next year? The Ravens have already spent $5.24 million of their salary cap on players no longer on their roster: $750,000 to Leroy Hoard, $3 million to Andre Rison, $1.32 million to Pepper Johnson and $175,000 to Don Griffin.

--The Chiefs gave Philadelphia a second-round pick in 1995 and a sixth-round choice in 1996 to acquire wide receiver Victor Bailey, who has now been listed as inactive in 20 of 22 games with Kansas City.