Faint Praise for T.J. From Coliseum Head

Having been a chronic critic of T.J. Simers, I want to take this opportunity to congratulate him on an excellent and mostly accurate article [“NFL Favors Coliseum” Feb. 17].

The $5-million provision does not call for payment by the Coliseum Commission, only that it be required by a third party to be paid if, and only if, a team in which Ed Roski is not involved actually plays in a renovated Coliseum. The message here is simple. Roski is spending millions to try to get the team, and if the Coliseum makes a deal with someone else, he gets his money back from that someone else, even if it is the NFL. In that case, the Coliseum--and L.A.--still gets a team.

Along with the state of California, the county of Los Angeles and the city of Los Angeles, the Coliseum Commission is committed to being part of the solution, not part of the problem. We have come a long way, and the end is in sight. There is plenty of credit to go around, and all of our public officials, Mssrs. Roski and Eli Broad deserve our support. And, I am personally ecstatic that we seem to finally be getting the support from The Times, for which I am grateful.

SHELDON SLOAN

President, Coliseum Commission