MCCOURT INTERESTED IN NFL DODGERS OWNER'S INQUIRY ANGERS COLISEUM BACKERS.

Byline: Billy Witz Staff Writer

Shortly after commissioner Paul Tagliabue stood in front of L.A. City Hall last month and declared that the Coliseum was ``the focus'' of the NFL's efforts to return to Los Angeles, top league officials continued to meet with representatives of Dodgers owner Frank McCourt to listen to his proposal for an NFL stadium and development project in Chavez Ravine.

While the NFL and the Dodgers said Wednesday that the talks were exploratory and no more discussions are planned as long as the Coliseum andAnaheim remain viable, news of the meetings left many Coliseum officials upset - as much with McCourt as with the NFL.

``When you get into bed with the NFL, you shouldn't be surprised by anything,'' said L.A. County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, a member of the Coliseum Commission. ``But you don't expect this.''

Few in the Coliseum camp saw anything threatening in a McCourt proposal because there would be little political traction for getting the requisite building and environmental permits. Nor did they expect it to prevent them (or Anaheim) from finalizing a lease agreement prior to the Super Bowl - an objective of the league, the commissioner has said.

However, it was discomforting that the talks had continued after Tagliabue's visit, raising again the issue of trust with the NFL.

``That's the part that's a little disappointing,'' Coliseum general manager Pat Lynch said. ``Once they figure out L.A. politics, why would you want to hurt the deal?''

Said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello: ``It's not unusual for interested groups to come in and ask about our rules and procedures. We are not negotiating with the McCourt representatives.''

Two meetings were held between NFL vice president of strategic planning Neil Glat, the league's point person in Los Angeles, and two of McCourt's lieutenants, Jeff Ingram and Howard Sunkin, and his New York-based real estate attorney Larry Silverstein. They took place in October and November at the league offices in New York.

The meetings, first reported Wednesday by the Boston Herald, took place at the request of the McCourt, Aiello said. A Dodgers official characterized them as the culmination of two years of dialogue and denied that McCourt was trying to undermine the Coliseum's bid.

``I am a strong supporter of bringing the NFL to Los Angeles and have made it abundantly clear that I support the Coliseum as the site for the NFL's new stadium,'' McCourt said in a statement. ``Exploratory conversations were mutually agreed to under this premise.''

McCourt, who made his fortune in real estate in Boston, had repeatedly maintained that he had no interest in any development around Dodger Stadium. But a source with knowledge of McCourt's plans said acquiring anNFL team has been an objective since he bought the club two years ago.

It is why McCourt created a new position for Sunkin - vice president for public affairs - when he was hired away from the local political consulting firm Cerrell Associates in July, 2004, the source said. McCourt sought Sunkin's expertise in navigating the political process.

A deal proposal, according to sources, called for McCourt to turn over enough land to the NFL to build a stadium and 1 million square feet of retail space next to Dodger Stadium in exchange for the rights to the team that played in it.

The Herald reported today that it had obtained internal Dodger memosoutlining how a $600 million stadium could be financed with personal seat licenses, naming rights and cash for contracts that would allow an owner to ``effectively spend other people's cash.'' The project, dubbed ``Project Five Ton Gorilla,'' was also politically explosive, McCourt's advisors warned, emphasizing the need for confidentiality and encouraging him not to attend the meetings in case they ever became public, the paper reported.

Staff writers Rick Orlov and Tony Jackson contributed to this report.

Billy Witz, [phone]

billy.witz(at)dailynews.com