COLISEUM PLANS UNVEILED : COUNCILMAN SAYS REBUILT STADIUM WOULD CREATE SPORTS CORRIDOR.Byline: Rick Orlov Daily News Staff Writer The city councilman who represents downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles is the central business district of Los Angeles, California, located close to the geographic center of the metropolitan area. The sprawling, multi-centered megacity is such that its downtown core is often considered just another district like Hollywood or released new plans Saturday to remodel re·mod·el tr.v. re·mod·eled also re·mod·elled, re·mod·el·ing also re·mod·el·ling, re·mod·els also re·mod·els To make over in structure or style; reconstruct. the Memorial Coliseum For other similar named athletic facilities, see . Memorial Coliseum (or Veterans Memorial Coliseum in some cases) can refer to:
Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas Mark Ridley-Thomas (born 1954) is currently a California State Senate where he chairs the Business, Professions and Economic Development Committee]]. He represents the 26th district which includes the communities of Vermont Knolls, Jefferson Park, Leimert Park, Hancock Park, Korean said one of the the top sports architectural firms in the nation, HOK Sports Facility Group of Kansas City Kansas City, two adjacent cities of the same name, one (1990 pop. 149,767), seat of Wyandotte co., NE Kansas (inc. 1859), the other (1990 pop. 435,146), Clay, Jackson, and Platte counties, NW Mo. (inc. 1850). , has developed plans that would transform the area from Dodger Stadium • • [ to the Coliseum into a major sports corridor. ``We are talking about Dodger Stadium, the new sports complex at the Convention Center and the Coliseum,'' Ridley-Thomas said. ``It will invigorate in·vig·or·ate tr.v. in·vig·or·at·ed, in·vig·or·at·ing, in·vig·or·ates To impart vigor, strength, or vitality to; animate: "A few whiffs of the raw, strong scent of phlox invigorated her" and revitalize the Figueroa corridor unlike anything we've seen in at least half a century.'' Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles, California, USA. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). owner Edward Roski has submitted a proposal to build a sports and entertainment complex that would include a basketball and hockey arena in the South Park area adjacent to the Convention Center. The proposal has been enthusiastically embraced by city officials. Among the plans for revitalizing Exposition Park, Ridley-Thomas said, are restoring the swim stadium at Exposition Park, building a community center and soccer fields, and expanding the nearby museums. ``And it will not be done with any tax dollars,'' Ridley-Thomas said. ``We have an economic plan in the works that will show how this can be done privately.'' Ridley-Thomas was critical of a proposal released Saturday by retired Arco Chairman Lodwrick Cook Lodwrick ("Lod") Monroe Cook is an American businessman. Background and education Cook was born in Louisiana on June 17, 1928. He received a Bachelor's degree in mathematics from Louisiana State University in 1950. and businessman Sheldon Ausman for a $300 million football stadium near the Convention Center. ``What they don't have is the amount of land we do in Exposition Park, the site control or the political support,'' Ridley-Thomas said. ``The councilwoman of the district (Rita Walters), the council and the mayor have all come out for the Coliseum.'' Ridley-Thomas said he supports plans to completely remodel the interior of the Coliseum. ``We will keep the historic preservation aspects of the Coliseum, but everything else will be new to create a state-of-the art facility,'' Ridley-Thomas said. ``It will be completely new, so any impression it is not is simply incorrect.'' Ridley-Thomas said the National Football League, which earlier ruled out the Coliseum, has been more open to using the facility because of the latest plans. The councilman said the new plans build on the work that was done to seismically strengthen the facility after the Northridge Earthquake. ``We have a meeting set in October, and we have found much more receptivity,'' Ridley-Thomas said. He said it might be necessary to remove the Sports Arena from the Coliseum area to provide parking for football. ``This Sports Arena is a facility that has outlived its usefulness,'' Ridley-Thomas said. ``With the new facility going up at the Convention Center, we are putting all our weight behind the new Coliseum and the new Exposition Park sports enrichment project.'' The councilman said some talks have been under way with the sole remaining major tenant of the Sports Arena, the Los Angeles Clippers and team owner Donald Sterling. The University of Southern California The U.S. News & World Report ranked USC 27th among all universities in the United States in its 2008 ranking of "America's Best Colleges", also designating it as one of the "most selective universities" for admitting 8,634 of the almost 34,000 who applied for freshman admission basketball teams also use the arena. Earlier this year, however, Sterling said he was committed to remaining in Los Angeles when he rejected offers to move his team to the Anaheim Pond. Ridley-Thomas said the Exposition Park plans have been endorsed by USC An abbreviation for U.S. Code. President Steven Sample, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the Community Redevelopment Agency. ``It is a transportation hub already,'' Ridley-Thomas said. ``We have the infrastructure. No other site is acceptable or has all that.'' Cook and Ausman's plans for a 72,000-seat stadium in the South Park area were revealed on Saturday. They said they are seeking large-scale investors and would possibly have to seek some taxpayer funding. A site study conducted earlier for Football L.A., the group formed by Mayor Richard Riordan to attract a professional team, had looked at the South Park site. That report called it one of the less desirable areas in Los Angeles under consideration for a stadium. CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas shows a design of theColiseum and Exposition Park renovation. Michael Owen Baker/Daily News |
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