New Coliseum Partners Trying to Stay in Expansion Ballgame

In a surprise move, the New Coliseum Partners intend to crash the NFL owners’ meetings here today with a last-minute proposal that could undermine Michael Ovitz’s pitch on behalf of Hollywood Park.

An NFL spokesman said Monday night that the league was not expecting anyone here other than Ovitz and representatives of Houston bidding for an expansion team.

“We didn’t see any point of telegraphing what we were going to do, like some other people [Ovitz],” said Eli Broad of the New Coliseum Partners. “I feel we’ve got the best proposal for the long-term interests of the league.”

Broad said prior commitments will keep him from being here but added that Ed Roski would fly here this morning and then deliver the New Coliseum proposal to the Expansion Committee.

“We’ve talked to a number of owners and they think the Coliseum is the right place,” Broad said. “We have certain written communications from public officials that they haven’t seen before and hopefully they will look kindly on them.”

The league hoped to pit Houston’s prospective owner, Bob McNair, in a bidding war against Ovitz with the expectation of reaching a resolve Wednesday on which city should receive the NFL’s 32nd franchise.

But if Ovitz has to compete for attention with the New Coliseum, Houston will benefit. A group of owners has grown weary of the process and advocates just taking what McNair has to offer.

The New Coliseum pitch will also come complete with a list of objections as to why the NFL should not consider Hollywood Park, another move that figures to confuse and irritate the league’s owners.