Two teams Ah-nold? Are you nuts???
LOS ANGELES -- Rival groups representing Los Angeles and Anaheim made their pitches to an 11-member National Football League owners committee in Dallas on Tuesday, seeking a team for the region.
"The Los Angeles Coliseum is the clear choice for the NFL," said Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who led the Los Angeles delegation. "The united political leadership, along with civic and business community support, has the will to make NFL football happen in Los Angeles."
City Councilman Bernard Parks, who has been spearheading the city's effort to bring the NFL back to the Coliseum, said the Exposition Park area has undergone major changes over the past decade, making it a prime location for NFL football.
"There was a time not long ago when an L.A. city councilman probably wouldn't be boasting about the Figueroa corridor," Parks said. "However, in the past few years, the corridor has seen a tremendous amount of daring new development."
Parks' plan calls for building an $800 million, 67,000-seat stadium inside the walls of the historic Coliseum, which hosted the 1932 and 1984 Summer Olympics. Construction for the project could begin as soon as next year, he said.
The renovated Coliseum would have 200 luxury boxes and 15,000 club seats, according to Parks, who recently had breakfast with NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue.
The stadium, which currently can hold 92,000 fans, would have a lower seating capacity but the flexibility to increase it for big events, such as Super Bowls or USC-UCLA matchups, Parks said.
Los Angeles, however, isn't the only Southland area hoping to lure an NFL franchise.
Anaheim envisions a stadium near Arrowhead Pond and Angel Stadium in an area dubbed the Platinum Triangle. City spokesman John Nicoletti could not be reached for immediate comment on the presentations.
Meanwhile, an initiative has qualified for the ballot in Pasadena that would give the NFL the right to play at the Rose Bowl for 25 years in exchange for a $500 million stadium renovation, $500,000 a year in rent and other considerations. Pasadena's bid, however, is considered a longshot, given the lack of enthusiasm among some city leaders.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger told the owners' committee that Southern California should be considered for two NFL franchises.
In a meeting last November with Villaraigosa and Parks, Tagliabue said that because of the Coliseum's significant progress compared to other potential sites in the Los Angeles area, the league was focusing on it as the location for an NFL franchise.
It would be up the NFL to decide whether an existing team or an expansion team would come to Los Angeles. Los Angeles officials are hoping the NFL will agree to pay for the new stadium.
"It is vitally important that the NFL be allowed to do what it does best - - run the business of football," said county Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke, president of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission. "Like any smart landlord, we just want to find a tenant that will be a responsible steward of the property, then get out of the way.
"The time is right, the place is right. It simply makes sense that L.A. and the NFL get back together," she said.
The Los Angeles area has not had an NFL team since 1994. In 1995, the Raiders returned to Oakland after playing 13 seasons at the Coliseum, and the Anaheim-based Los Angeles Rams moved to St. Louis.
Last week, Parks convened a meeting of the City Council's Ad Hoc Stadium Committee, which set a May 19 deadline for city departments to complete issues of signage, alcohol sales and architectural design issues associated with returning an NFL team to the Coliseum.
# May 2, 2006: Schwarzenegger Wants Two NFL Teams In LA Area
# April 25, 2006: Plan Calls For New Stadium Inside Facade Of Coliseum
NFL owners could make a decision on a team coming to Los Angeles at a May 22-23 meeting in Denver, Parks said.
LOS ANGELES -- Rival groups representing Los Angeles and Anaheim made their pitches to an 11-member National Football League owners committee in Dallas on Tuesday, seeking a team for the region.
"The Los Angeles Coliseum is the clear choice for the NFL," said Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who led the Los Angeles delegation. "The united political leadership, along with civic and business community support, has the will to make NFL football happen in Los Angeles."
City Councilman Bernard Parks, who has been spearheading the city's effort to bring the NFL back to the Coliseum, said the Exposition Park area has undergone major changes over the past decade, making it a prime location for NFL football.
"There was a time not long ago when an L.A. city councilman probably wouldn't be boasting about the Figueroa corridor," Parks said. "However, in the past few years, the corridor has seen a tremendous amount of daring new development."
Parks' plan calls for building an $800 million, 67,000-seat stadium inside the walls of the historic Coliseum, which hosted the 1932 and 1984 Summer Olympics. Construction for the project could begin as soon as next year, he said.
The renovated Coliseum would have 200 luxury boxes and 15,000 club seats, according to Parks, who recently had breakfast with NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue.
The stadium, which currently can hold 92,000 fans, would have a lower seating capacity but the flexibility to increase it for big events, such as Super Bowls or USC-UCLA matchups, Parks said.
Los Angeles, however, isn't the only Southland area hoping to lure an NFL franchise.
Anaheim envisions a stadium near Arrowhead Pond and Angel Stadium in an area dubbed the Platinum Triangle. City spokesman John Nicoletti could not be reached for immediate comment on the presentations.
Meanwhile, an initiative has qualified for the ballot in Pasadena that would give the NFL the right to play at the Rose Bowl for 25 years in exchange for a $500 million stadium renovation, $500,000 a year in rent and other considerations. Pasadena's bid, however, is considered a longshot, given the lack of enthusiasm among some city leaders.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger told the owners' committee that Southern California should be considered for two NFL franchises.
In a meeting last November with Villaraigosa and Parks, Tagliabue said that because of the Coliseum's significant progress compared to other potential sites in the Los Angeles area, the league was focusing on it as the location for an NFL franchise.
It would be up the NFL to decide whether an existing team or an expansion team would come to Los Angeles. Los Angeles officials are hoping the NFL will agree to pay for the new stadium.
"It is vitally important that the NFL be allowed to do what it does best - - run the business of football," said county Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke, president of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission. "Like any smart landlord, we just want to find a tenant that will be a responsible steward of the property, then get out of the way.
"The time is right, the place is right. It simply makes sense that L.A. and the NFL get back together," she said.
The Los Angeles area has not had an NFL team since 1994. In 1995, the Raiders returned to Oakland after playing 13 seasons at the Coliseum, and the Anaheim-based Los Angeles Rams moved to St. Louis.
Last week, Parks convened a meeting of the City Council's Ad Hoc Stadium Committee, which set a May 19 deadline for city departments to complete issues of signage, alcohol sales and architectural design issues associated with returning an NFL team to the Coliseum.
# May 2, 2006: Schwarzenegger Wants Two NFL Teams In LA Area
# April 25, 2006: Plan Calls For New Stadium Inside Facade Of Coliseum
NFL owners could make a decision on a team coming to Los Angeles at a May 22-23 meeting in Denver, Parks said.
