L.A. BID SET FOR DEBATE BY NFL.

Byline: BILLY WITZ Staff Writer

A dozen years after the NFL broached returning professional football to the Southland, team owners will meet this week to debate the merits of locating a franchise at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum or in Anaheim, although -- once again -- they're unlikely to make the definitive decision for which local officials have hoped.

A committee of 11 owners, dubbed the L.A. Working Group, will meet today in Denver to debate the merits of both proposals, then will lead a discussion Tuesday among the owners of all 32 teams.

Neil Glat, the National Football League's vice president for strategic planning, said he expects ``tangible next steps to keep the momentum going.''

To those on the inside, that means visiting Los Angeles and Orange County next month to meet with local businessmen and launching costly engineering and architecture studies of both proposed stadium sites.

To those on the outside -- who have watched over the years as the NFL has weighed stadium proposals for Carson, the Rose Bowl, Hollywood Park and Chavez Ravine -- some signs are more tangible than others.

``I don't think you'll see any white smoke coming out of the chimney of that hotel Tuesday night,'' said New York Giants co-owner Steve Tisch. ``Ownership has not been asked, nor has it been discussed: Where do you think the stadium should be? None of that has happened and none will happen on Tuesday.''

As a recently added member of the working group -- and the only NFL owner who lives in Los Angeles full time -- Tisch is bullish on both sites and the process for choosing between them.

``Maybe in prior versions of this play they have been strung along. But in my involvement -- and it's been a very short time -- I'll tell you the 11 of us on the committee are very focused and enthusiastic and optimistic that this time around there's a tremendous amount of good will,'' said -Tisch, a television and movie producer whose credits include ``Forrest Gump.''

``Any big business issue that's the magnitude of bringing football back to Southern California is time-consuming. But it's time-consuming with a lot of focus as opposed to time-consuming and everyone wanting to keep it on a back burner.''

And while wanting it to happen and making it happen are two different matters, Los Angeles officials have done their best to fulfill their longtime dream.

Within the last month, city officials have pushed through plans to build an $800 million stadium inside the 83-year-old Coliseum, which would be leased to the National Football League for an existing or expansion team.

They've also added signage provisions for the site designed to enhance revenue and sweeten the deal for the NFL.

And they've wooed local business and civic leaders with a polished presentation that includes artists' renderings of a state-of-the-art stadium soaring high above the walls of the historical landmark.

City Councilman Bernard Parks, who has spearheaded the city's effort to keep the Coliseum plan alive, said Los Angeles leaders have shown in the past week that they can meet the NFL's stiff demands.

``Our very successful week sets the stage for even more progress for the Coliseum,'' Parks said Sunday, citing the serial approvals from the city's Cultural Heritage Board, Planning Commission and City Council, along with a $25 million commitment from the Community Redevelopment Agency for improvements in the Exposition Park area.

``We will be ready for whatever the owners decide in Denver,'' Parks said.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa could not be reached for comment Sunday, but he has long been a supporter of the Coliseum project. He went to Dallas earlier this month to make a personal appeal to a delegation of owners, and also pledged the support of Los Angeles' business community.

Biggest rival

While Pasadena officials have proposed locating an NFL team at the Rose Bowl -- the site of five Super Bowls -- Anaheim is considered Los Angeles' biggest rival for pro football.

That city has agreed to sell 53 acres adjacent to Angel Stadium for about $50 million to the NFL, which would build and own the stadium. Earlier this month, it was reported the league had hired architect HOK+Sport to start designing a stadium for the site.

Anaheim -- which had expected a decision by last May, then October, then March -- has given the NFL until the end of this month to make a decision before it begins talking with other parties who want to develop the property next to Angel Stadium.

The question, Tisch said, is how seriously will Anaheim consider other offers?

``If an agent I'm negotiating with says, `It's time to open up the bidding,' that he's going to put an actor back on the market or wants to sell a script to someone else, if I believe it's not a negotiating ploy, I take it very seriously,'' he said. ``I look at my game plan and my strategy.

``If I think it's being used insincerely and someone's trying to get me to spend more than I want to spend, it's another issue.''

If Anaheim seeks requests from commercial or residential developers, it would not only put the NFL in the uncomfortable and unusual position of bidding against someone, it could bring local politics into the mix.

The NFL has yet to talk with Angels owner Arte Moreno, who holds entitlements on portions of the 53 acres.

And the $50 million for which the NFL would get the 53-acre parcel in Anaheim's Platinum Triangle is less than half what commercial brokers say the land is worth for retail or housing.

While Anaheim City Councilman Harry Sidhu wants to let the market determine the cost of the land, Mayor Curt Pringle cautioned that dollar value alone can't determine a property's worth.

``We will seek, solicit and encourage interest,'' Pringle said. ``But what some people miss is that doesn't mean a one-time benefit to the city. It means an ongoing benefit to the city. This is not about putting a stake in the ground with a for-sale sign.''

Still, other bids could push Anaheim to seek a more favorable deal with the NFL.

``Right now we don't know what other projects will give us,'' said Anaheim Councilman Bob Hernandez, who remains uncommitted to a deal and could be the key swing vote on the council. ``When you're looking at a deal, you don't know if it looks good until you compare.''

The situation at the Coliseum isn't all that clear, either.

Some officials have expressed concerns about changes detailed in a recent addendum to the environmental impact report and how they could impact the museums and other public facilities in Exposition Park.

George Deukmejian, the former California governor who now chairs the California Science Center Foundation, worries about losing access to a 2,000-space parking garage that was built to accommodate the center's expansion.

``We haven't been given any details or information regarding the discussions going on between the NFL and the Coliseum Commission,'' Deukmejian said. ``While we fully appreciate the Coliseum Commission seeking a professional team, we are concerned about the need to balance the interest of the Coliseum with the negative impact that would come from an increased number and size of events on the regular operations of our Science Center and other cultural facilities in Exposition Park.''

Historical status

Meanwhile, the West Adams Heritage Association is the second preservation group to say that the recent changes jeopardize the Coliseum's prestigious status as a National Historic Landmark -- an honor revoked from Chicago's Soldier Field because of a drastic renovation.

Association Vice President Jean Frost also said the proposed changes should have been detailed in a supplement to the environmental impact report.Others who share Frost's opinion have privately suggested the Coliseum could open itself up to lawsuits challenging the validity of the addendum, especially if its landmark status is in jeopardy.

That would be a last resort. Many are hopeful their concerns can be negotiated away. It is why, several said, they have not shown up at commission or City Council meetings in recent weeks.

Also conspicuously absent from the discussions is the University of Southern California, whose football team has played at the Coliseum since it opened in 1923 -- and has won two national championships in the last three years.

Although it has sent representatives to monitor Coliseum Commission meetings in recent months, the school has not had talks with the NFL since last year.

Staff Writer Rick Orlov contributed to this report.

billywitz(at)yahoo.com

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