NFL Loves to Play Venue-Bidding Game

Regarding “Anaheim’s the Latest of NFL Footballs,” Golden State, Aug. 30:

In his assessment of the National Football League’s new flirtation with Anaheim, Michael Hiltzik offers the city some very sound advice: Don’t be fooled into thinking the NFL’s sudden interest means the city of Anaheim has a leg up on the competition. The NFL loves to jerk that chain of football-hungry cities.

How better to cause the three publicly identified venues -- Carson, the Rose Bowl and the Coliseum -- to up the ante than by throwing in a fourth and highly competitive venue, Anaheim, into the mix?

Anaheim’s announcement of the NFL’s “significant interest” in the area, while certainly newsworthy, plays directly into the NFL’s hands.

Now all venues will be compelled to increase their efforts to lure a professional football team, which, in the end, will translate into a much sweeter deal for the NFL.

I offer additional words of caution to Anaheim’s mayor: The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is still very much in the game. So much so that at the league’s request, I authored legislation to extend the life of the redevelopment area in which the Coliseum is located to strengthen our package and make the deal more attractive.

Assembly Bill 2805 provides funding to improve the infrastructure around the venue and is currently on the governor’s desk awaiting his review.

Although the NFL has a habit of forcing, enticing or cajoling interested parties to continually sweeten the deal, the Coliseum is still the premier site in Los Angeles.

Mark Ridley-Thomas

State Assemblyman

Los Angeles