Coliseum Plan Is Revealed

The finance plan for the New Coliseum, revealed publicly for the first time Monday and already receiving favorable reviews from NFL officials, will require owners Ed Roski & Partners to come up with more than $200 million in a Staples Center-like deal, while relying on $40 million in public money, $100 million in personal seat licenses and the highest-priced luxury suites in the NFL.

Roski, apparently unruffled and undeterred by criticism and suggestions that he abandon his New Coliseum project, has chartered a plane to deliver models of his new-looking Coliseum, along with more than 30 people, to Kansas City for a one-hour presentation to the NFL owners Oct. 27.

Roski has told the NFL he will borrow $100 million, according to NFL rules, toward payment of the NFL’s franchise fee, paying the rest, as much as $400 million, in cash. He has also told them he will borrow $216.945 million toward the construction of a $356.945-million stadium, which he will pay off with revenue from club seats, luxury boxes, concessions and stadium naming rights.

The NFL, while receptive to the finance plan and working with Roski to maybe add additional partners to his ownership group, still needs convincing that the New Coliseum will not be a renovated facility, but rather an entirely new structure.

This appears to be the New Coliseum’s most daunting task--convincing at least 23 owners that a Super Bowl-like facility can one day stand in place of the Coliseum they remember.

“The finance plan we have structured, and which has been reviewed by the league, is a plan which everyone appears comfortable with,” said Roski, announcing for the first time that he will be the controlling partner in the operation, rather than billionaire Philip Anschutz. “The NFL understands that our finance plan will be different than Houston’s. They are very well aware that the size of the L.A. market more than makes up for any differences in the Houston financing model.

“Houston might raise $45 million in PSLs, but the NFL is very comfortable with the $100 million in PSLs in our L.A. plan. It’s the different size of the market.”

The Staples Center, which adds to Roski’s credibility in NFL circles, has some of the highest-priced luxury boxes and premium seats in any arena in the country, and they are all expected to be sold out by December.

The New Coliseum finance plan will be broken down into public and private contributions when presented to the NFL. On the public side of the ledger, the New Coliseum will show that the value of the land at the Coliseum site is $85 million, and that $112.976 million has already been spent on freeway off-ramps into Exposition Park. Another $111 million was used to upgrade the facility after earthquake damage.

The New Coliseum Partners will use $20 million in Community Redevelopment Agency money generated from incremental property tax increases on the area, as well as another $20 million in ticket taxes, bringing the value of the public contribution to $348.976 million.

In building the Staples Center, $35 million was generated from ticket taxes.

The New Coliseum will be designed in Camden Yards-fashion to take advantage of the Coliseum’s historical standing in L.A.

Roski & Partners will use $100 million in PSLs, $20 million in ticket taxes, $20 million in redevelopment money and an additional $216.945 million in borrowed money--through banks, the selling of bonds or a stock buy.

“Our project comes in so much lower than anyone else’s because we don’t have to buy the land or have to make the infrastructure adjustments that others will have to make,” Roski said. “This makes our project more attractive.”

The average luxury suite will cost $120,000, and the average club seat will be $2,500 with an additional $1,000-$2,000 one-time only PSL payment. There will also be seats available that do not require a PSL commitment.

The New Coliseum Partners, who will receive a national-record $5 million a year for 20 years from Staples for naming rights, expect to draw $2.5 million a year for 25 years in naming rights for the new football facility.

The Coliseum assumptions for luxury suites, club seats and naming rights are higher than any established prices around the league, but the NFL agrees with the New Coliseum Partners, in part, that L.A. will meet such demands.

However, the NFL has one serious reservation: Will L.A. meet such a demand in a “renovated” Coliseum? The Oakland experience, a disaster, remains fresh in the minds of NFL officials, who now understand the public will not pay big bucks for the privilege of sitting in a warmed-over stadium.

“Everything being equal, L.A. is the preferred place for the NFL,” Roski said. “L.A. is three or four levels up from Houston in terms of what it can bring to the league in future growth. The NFL recognizes this as a big, big market, and wants to tap into it.”

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