NFL: DESIGN ON TAP FOR ANAHEIM STADIUM.

Byline: BILLY WITZ Staff Writer

The NFL has hired one of the nation's top stadium architects, HOK + Sport, to design plans for a football stadium in Anaheim.

Until recently, the NFL had given much of its design attention to the renovation of the Coliseum, which is more complicated due to preservation restrictions and the lease arrangement under which it would operate the stadium.

In Anaheim, the NFL has agreed to purchase 53 acres for approximately $50 million on which it would build and own the stadium, providing a cleaner deal.

``We're spending some real money on design down there that fits that sight and complements what that sight is trying to do,'' Neil Glat, the NFL's vice president for strategic planning, said of Anaheim.

HOK, which has been working with the NFL's construction consultant, Hammes Co., has been developing plans for Anaheim for two months, but has not yet shared its designs with the NFL and, as of Wednesday, had not been asked to make a presentation to NFL owners next week.

How much further the NFL goes with its plans in Anaheim may be determined Tuesday when the league's owners meet in Denver to consider how to proceed in Anaheim and at the Coliseum.

``Ownership will identify the tangible next steps -- selecting one site or moving forward with both,'' said Glat, who added that the league's focus over the next 3-6 months would be on stadium design and gauging the support of the business community.

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