Don’t Play Ball With Tax-Funded Stadiums

Re “Stadium Site Still Tough to Pin Down,” Nov. 25: I’d like to pose one simple question: Who asked for the NFL in L.A.? It seems to me that the only people pushing for the NFL in L.A. are (1) the NFL; (2) grubby developers looking to make a buck on building a stadium; (3) half-wit politicians looking to not only line their pockets but put such an item on their resume. I say forget about the NFL if it doesn’t care for the Coliseum or the Rose Bowl. And forget about Councilman Nick Pacheco. Why doesn’t he find something more fruitful for his constituents?

Overall, I think most of metro Los Angeles is perfectly content with three professional basketball teams, one being repeat world champions, two playoff-contending hockey teams, two baseball teams (one of which is a world champion), a championship soccer team and arena football for those who just aren’t as satiated as I am from watching the Oakland Raiders or the San Diego Chargers on TV. We don’t need the NFL and we can’t afford to spend ridiculous amounts of tax dollars to appease it.

Patrick Morrison

Silver Lake

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I just attended the UCLA-USC game at the Rose Bowl. I felt safe, parking was good (except there were 91,000 people), freeways adjacent, view of the field excellent. To me the only thing the Rose Bowl needs are the corporate or luxury boxes. I can’t figure out why the Rose Bowl doesn’t get better play.

Eric Matzner

Palm Springs

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Once again our local officials are attempting to foist a white elephant upon the taxpayers of Los Angeles in the guise of a sports center for millionaire football team owners. L.A. already has a venue for such an enterprise -- it’s called the Coliseum. This site has been successfully used for Olympic Games and restored, at great public expense, after the Northridge earthquake.

Our local leaders would be well advised to use their efforts to increase the economic base of the city by bringing in businesses that would contribute to the growth of Los Angeles. If, as our leaders claim, L.A. is a world-class city, why have corporate headquarters left the city? There are a number of solutions to acquiring a sports center for Los Angeles. Let the team owners of the football (and baseball) leagues combine forces to build a multiuse stadium and have the city assist the process by simplifying the permits and procedures to facilitate location and construction. If the team owners do not want to risk their capital, they might consider bringing in some of the players with multimillion-dollar salaries as investors in such a project. Failing that, the players could form a corporation to build a stadium. Let the people who stand to profit the most from a new stadium assume the risk.

Let our city leaders try leading for a change and bring corporate America back to L.A. Let them help by creating a permanent base for business that will create more long-lasting jobs than seasonally parking cars and selling hot dogs and beer.

Harold E. Boucher

West Hills