PARKS ASKS ABOUT PRICE MEETS TAGLIABUE ABOUT HIGH COST OF PUTTING TEAM IN COLISEUM.

Byline: Billy Witz Staff Writer

ORLANDO, Fla. - Searching for answers on the NFL's increased cost estimates for renovating the Coliseum and direction on what the league would like resolved for the site, L.A. City Councilman Bernard Parks met Thursday for 90 minutes with NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue.

Parks, a member of the Coliseum Commission, emerged from their breakfast meeting at the resort where the NFL concluded its meetings Wednesday convinced that Tagliabue is determined to meet his stated goal of choosing a stadium site in Los Angeles and/or Anaheim by the end of May.

``He's clearly been briefed by their staff. He knows all the elements of our deal,'' said Parks, who was joined by his son and top aide, Bernard Parks Jr. ``I was pleased that he took the time to meet with us and it wasn't rushed. He said there were two things at the top of his list: this and (finding) a new commissioner.''

Parks said Tagliabue cited several factors that have pushed the NFL's estimate for turning the Coliseum into a state-of-the-art stadium to $800 million, about $200 million higher than the Coliseum's estimates from last summer:

The delay from a 2009-10 window for opening to 2010-11; an escalation in construction materials, which have pushed cost increases to from three percent each year to 10 percent; and some mechanics of the new collective bargaining agreement that would impact an owners' profit and loss statement.

Parks said Tagliabue asked him for help understanding the political lay of the land, something the NFL has been accused of either misreading or ignoring.

Among the other issues discussed were:

-- Transportation and parking. Parks discussed the benefits of the Exposition rail line and explained plans to turn a state-owned, 260-spot parking lot at the corner of Exposition and Vermont into a 2,200 spot parking garage.

-- Redevelopment legislation AB2805, a law that would take tax increases spurred by the Coliseum's redevelopment and invest them in infrastructure in and around Exposition Park. The legislation is worth an estimated $20 to $30 million, and constitutes the only public funds in the deal.

Parks said he informed Tagliabue what types of projects would be eligible and that the city was working on bonding.

-- The city's requirement that any developer of a major project in a redevelopment zone must contribute 1 percent of the project's cost to public art in the zone. In the Coliseum's case, this could be about$8 million.

Parks told Tagliabue those contributions can be part of the building, such as a mural.

Tagliabue plans to visit Los Angeles in late April, and will address the Orange County Business Council on April 25. He has no other plans in what is expected to be a two-day trip. Officials from both sites will make a presentation to Tagliabue and a group of 11 owners in early May, then are intending to choose a site or sites at an owners meeting in Denver .

Billy Witz, [phone]

billy.witz(at)dailynews.com