Coliseum May Lose Exclusive NFL Bid

The new Coliseum group delivered its financial pitch to the NFL’s stadium committee--well, to the four members, out of six, who showed up Tuesday morning--and left feeling pretty good about the performance. But behind closed doors, the NFL talked about dissolving the 13-month exclusive arrangement with the Los Angeles contingent.

That backhanded slap, although not delivered with full force, came as something of a surprise to Los Angeles Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas, the driving force behind the new Coliseum campaign, and prompted an immediate reply: “We are fully prepared to compete, and ultimately win.”

King co-owner Edward Roski, who had received NFL encouragement after presenting a $300-million financing plan for a new Coliseum, which would include $150 million in public money, had left the meetings to return to Los Angeles, unaware that the league might throw open the competition.

“We have been primarily focusing our interest in the new Coliseum because of the passion and enthusiasm of Mark Ridley-Thomas to get it done,” said Jerry Richardson, owner of the Carolina Panthers and chairman of the stadium committee. “I’m not sure it’s appropriate to stop that, although we will be reviewing it.

“I know I had a burning desire to get a football team in Carolina and I competed with other cities and other groups in our city to get a franchise, and I never had exclusivity on anything. I don’t personally view what is going on in Los Angeles as an exclusive opportunity for anyone, and as chairman of the stadium committee, I would respond right now to most people who have a genuine interest in making something happen in L.A.”

That would appear to open the door for Hollywood Park, South Park interests and Rupert Murdoch, once he completes his purchase of the Dodgers.

“We’ve brought this proposal a long way, and people would have to do a lot of catching up,” Ridley-Thomas said. “The last time we were here with a finance plan they were practically dismissive. But this time they were not only attentive, but engaged, because this is a scenario emerging with a sense of credibility.”

NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue, agreeing with Ridley-Thomas, said the matter of exclusivity was only being discussed at this time. But since the subject came up only minutes after the new Coliseum group’s attempt to dazzle league executives, it was a clear indication that the NFL is not ready to break ground in Exposition Park.

It is, after all, still a battle of perceptions for the new Coliseum, and apparently still a losing one.

“They are out there lobbying for [the new Coliseum],” Denver owner Pat Bowlen said. “But I don’t know if they are getting a lot of attention.”

Although New England owner Robert Kraft and Miami owner Wayne Huizenga, members of the stadium committee, failed to show for the L.A. presentation, Viking owner Roger Headrick and 49er President Carmen Policy, representing teams seeking new stadium deals of their own, crashed the meeting to see if the financing plans might help their situations.

“Difficult,” Headrick said in describing the new Coliseum’s plan to get state money to help finance the new stadium. “I know the legislative factions that have surfaced in our state in attempting to raise funds. It has to be difficult in California.”

The 49ers have already begun lobbying for state assistance for a proposed $525-million stadium-mall complex, and the chance to rally support for Los Angeles-area politicians has to be considered a boon to their efforts.

“Anything that promotes the sports industry in California, we would be for,” Policy said. “We were heading in that direction before we saw leadership developing in L.A., and now with that leadership there, we see L.A. as a potential ally and maybe even a joint venture.”

Roski, who devised the financial plan to gain support from the 49ers, Raiders and Chargers, has shown tremendous enthusiasm in championing the new Coliseum, although he has received little or no help from his King partner, Philip Anschutz.

Anschutz, the Denver businessman with the money to gain the NFL’s attention, was also a no-show for the presentation and has not responded to a report that he has already decided not to pursue football in Los Angeles.

Roski, while maintaining that Anschutz remains dedicated to the cause, said he will drive on and begin putting together a political coalition around the state. He intends to push for a bill to be introduced in the state legislature in January to allow use of surplus sales taxes to benefit entertainment opportunities, among them new football stadiums.

Roski pointed out that the new Coliseum will require no new taxes, but rather the use of sales taxes generated by the development of the new facility.

“There will be no money coming out of the general funds,” Roski said. “It will be supported by money coming out of the area and the facility. It’s all new money. It’s a lot of work, but I am telling you, we will get it done.”

It will take a major lobbying effort to make a connection with politicians and to convince the public of its viability. It will also take a lot of time--maybe too much time for the NFL, which won’t budge until it sees results.

“Time is slipping by for everybody,” Roski said. “It would be presumptuous for them to come out and say anything today, but by March they need to say exactly where they are going in L.A.”

NFL representatives characterized the L.A. presentation as a sign of progress but indicated it did not overwhelm anyone. And they responded dubiously to the new Coliseum contingent’s demand to award an expansion franchise to Los Angeles at the owners’ meetings in March. The new team would then begin play in 2001.

“I would say it’s reasonable to ask for that,” Richardson said. “But it’s unlikely we can accommodate them.”

Roski, while declining to detail the finance plan he submitted, stated emphatically that he and Anschutz not only want to build the stadium, but own the team as well--and soon.

“I think people should feel very good about the opportunity we now have to bring football back to Los Angeles,” he said. “I think they should start to understand this is going to be a reality, and they should get aboard and feel part of the process.”

NFL officials, however, have to determine first how they will solve the football void in Cleveland. Tagliabue said the league might be prepared to announce expansion plans in March for Cleveland, but most owners have indicated they might wait until the November 1998 deadline.

At the same time, NFL executives said such indecision has left them paying little attention to Los Angeles, and what they heard from the new Coliseum contingent does not demand any change.

“They presented their financing plan, calling for the use of public money through state funds, and want an answer in March 1998, while admitting they cannot produce all their financing any time before November 1998,” said one. “It doesn’t work that way.

“When Jacksonville and Carolina were awarded teams, all financing was in place.”

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