Stadium May Face Landmark Battle

As Los Angeles County Supervisors backed a lawsuit Tuesday that could hamper efforts to construct a $450-million downtown football stadium, Coliseum and Rose Bowl representatives insisted their venues remain viable options for relocation-minded NFL teams.

And for the two Southern California landmarks, it’s all about survival.

“A new stadium would be devastating to us and to the Rose Bowl,” said Pat Lynch, general manager of the Coliseum, which is managed in part by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. “You build one stadium and kill two others.”

Said Rose Bowl general manager Darryl Dunn: “Time has proven that the Rose Bowl and Coliseum can coexist. A third stadium might jeopardize that.”

Rose Bowl representatives released a poll last week asserting that county residents favored the historic bowl to a downtown stadium by almost 2 to 1.

On Tuesday, Lynch distributed a report to Los Angeles City Council members outlining the benefits of a renovated Coliseum and how the $400-million project might be financed. That plan echoes the work already underway by the Coliseum Commission, a group chaired by Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas and charged with devising a way to best position the stadium for an NFL return.

Ridley-Thomas also introduced a motion last week that would have the Community Redevelopment Agency review various redevelopment project areas to assess where the best location for an NFL stadium would be in L.A.

The Coliseum is a longshot to become a permanent home for an NFL team, in large part because the league has essentially dismissed it as an alternative. At an owners meeting in Houston last week, NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue said the 80-year-old stadium is not an option.

An NFL spokesman declined to elaborate on the subject Tuesday except to point out no Coliseum proposal has been presented to the league. The NFL has met with Rose Bowl officials and heard a presentation from the coalition led by Denver billionaire Philip Anschutz, which unveiled plans last week to build a privately financed football stadium in downtown Los Angeles.

Some see a new stadium as especially detrimental to the Rose Bowl: It is more likely the Rose Bowl would lose UCLA football to a new venue than the Coliseum would lose USC football.

Lynch said the best strategy for the Coliseum is to appeal to individual NFL owners, who will be looking for the most lucrative deal when they consider relocation.

“For them, the best situation means a state-of-the-art stadium with the best economic return,” he said. “They couldn’t care less [where the stadium is located].”

The Anschutz proposal envisions construction of a $450-million stadium adjacent to Staples Center. The group has billed the plan as the last, best chance to bring pro football back to L.A. Already, the group has been contacted by representatives of the San Diego Chargers and Minnesota Vikings, both of whom are relocation candidates.

Tim Leiweke, a principal in the downtown stadium coalition, compared the prospects of renovating the Coliseum to the difficulty of rebuilding Chicago’s Soldier Field, a project that will cost more than $500 million--more than it would cost to build a new stadium.

There would be an NFL team in the Coliseum this fall if not for the events of three years ago, when Houston businessman Bob McNair bid $700 million to beat out two competing L.A. groups for the league’s 32nd franchise.

That league executives apparently have soured on the Coliseum raises questions about the already optimistic financing plan: The $400-million renovation proposal hinges on a $150-million loan from the league, money that also factors into the Anschutz plan.

Lynch said a Coliseum renovation could be financed the same way as was proposed in 1999, including $80 million coming from personal-seat licenses (PSLs), $74 million from an admission surcharge, and $35 million each by way of historical tax credits and redevelopment-zone tax increments.

“We need someone to stand behind us for our financing,” Lynch said. “It’s true; we’re well behind where they [the Anschutz coalition] are. But that can change.”

Mayor James Hahn, who supports the Anschutz proposal, did not dismiss the Coliseum.

“I still think you could make the Coliseum into a great venue for professional football,” Hahn said. “But I’m not going to put all of L.A.’s eggs in that basket.”

The county Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to sue the city, arguing that a redevelopment plan that would ease the way for stadium construction ultimately strips tax revenue from the county.

Some supervisors also voiced support for the Coliseum: “Building a multimillion-dollar football stadium downtown makes no economic sense when you have ... the Coliseum,” Supervisor Mike Antonovich said.

Criticism against the Coliseum includes the difficulty of dealing with the Coliseum Commission and the red tape associated with renovating a national historic landmark. Lynch said both of those issues have improved over time. Other concerns are the safety of the neighborhood and limited parking--fears that Lynch said are exaggerated.

“[NFL owners and executives] toured the area last time around and came away satisfied it was safe,” Lynch said, adding that there are roughly 23,000 parking spots within a half-mile radius of the Coliseum--enough to satisfy the league’s basic requirements.

“What we hope is that the proper due diligence of the L.A. market takes place,” Lynch said. “If they do that, and still conclude that the Coliseum is not a worthy project to continue, then so be it. At least we’ve had our day.”