ANTONIO PLUGS L.A. AT NFL MEETING DINNER STRESSES BUSINESS SUPPORT.

Byline: RICK ORLOV Staff Writer

< Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa wined and dined National Football League officials Wednesday, pressing his case to bring a professional team back to the Los Angeles Coliseum.

At a dinner catered by celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck at the Getty House, the mayor's official residence, Villaraigosa called Los Angeles the ``cultural center of the world,'' deserving of a pro team.

``We have been working to bring professional football back for 10 years and I think we have more momentum now than ever before,'' he said.

``It's up to us to make the case to the NFL to show that we want football here and that, as the most diverse city in the world, a city where we speak 134 languages, we provide a fan base that will help connect them to the world.''

NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue, who headed the football delegation of team owners and staffers, said the meeting with business leaders helped the league zero in on the critical issues that will help them decide whether to bring one -- or even two -- teams to the Los Angeles metropolitan area.

``One of the aspects is the business support for the NFL,'' Tagliabue said. ``It will be key to whether we are able to finance the cost of a stadium.''

Tagliabue and the delegation are scheduled to meet today with Anaheim officials on their proposal, but he spoke as though Los Angeles were at the top of his priority list.

Among other things, he said the league is looking to build a stadium that is in the center of activity, can play host to a major collegiate football team and also serve as the site for future Super Bowls.

Tagliabue would not say when the league expects to make a decision, although local officials have been told it could be as early as this summer. The commissioner also renewed the possibility of two teams being located at one stadium to spread out the overall construction costs.

Figures developed so far estimate it would cost the league up to $800 million to build a stadium in Los Angeles or Orange County. Bringing in a team is expected to add an additional $1 billion to $1.2 billion to the costs, officials said.

``Because of the cost, we want to make sure the financing is there to make it profitable,'' Tagliabue said.

Tagliabue was joined by the owners of four teams: Michael Bidwill of the Arizona Cardinals, Pat Bowlen of the Denver Broncos, Steve Tisch of the New York Giants and Jed York of the San Francisco 49ers.

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