PUBLIC FORUM : NFL CAN COME PLAY IN L.A., BUT NOT IF IT WANTS PUBLIC TO PAY.

Well, it looks like the moguls of pro football are at it again. It seems that in order for L.A. to acquire a team, the citizens of the city must put up a good chunk of cash to resurrect that relic of a stadium, the Coliseum. It's the NFL's way of gauging the public's interest.

Well, I say no. If the NFL wants a team in this city, then let it and whoever else wants to put up the money, like any other fledgling business would. It's called risk, it's called private enterprise, it's called business. You put up your money and you take your chances.

Ed Rosky and Michael Ovitz sound like the kind of men who use OPM (other people's money) and that's all well and good as long as it's not the public's money by way of a bond. Those politicians on the other side of the hill have a predilection for obligating us here in the Valley to finance their harebrained schemes. This smells like another one of them. Remember, secession is just around the corner; let's not pay for something we'll never own.

- Lawrence A. Calabro

Northridge

I do not want the NFL to return because when the Rams were in Anaheim and did not have a sellout, we were not permitted to see any game on TV during that time slot. This will happen again.

This will cost the taxpayers as the Coliseum will be leased at a low cost to the new owner and all sales taxes on tickets will be given to the NFL team owner instead of being turned over to the city.

- Vivian Cooper

Encino

Hooray for the recent willingness for all the NFL moguls to now consider L.A. for an expansion team. Not only that, I get the impression that the Coliseum has the edge over the Carson location.

Personally, I could always manage to enjoy professional football games in the Coliseum, warts and all. But I always had an uneasy feeling about the area I had to place myself in in order to do so. If the Coliseum benefactors could reveal their plans for political action and the money to update the quality of life in that area, including the widening of streets, replacing the present housing with better structures, the introduction of better traffic control and dent-free parking, and a beautification plan for a mile or so surrounding the stadium, then we'd have something commensurate to blend with the new stadium.

My humor is that the previous teams we used to have sensed some kind of uneasiness about the Coliseum regarding the reception of the fans. It wasn't about the size of the field or that there were lumps in the playing turf, so what was it? I'm impressed with the expenditures planned to rejuvenate the Coliseum structure. Why not also tell us what's planned to rejuvenate the fans other than just getting a new team?

- Michael Cryder

North Hills

It would be nice to have a team back in L.A. - but we don't need one if they intend to use the Memorial Coliseum. That place is a dive and the neighborhood is unsafe.

The best way is to go with the private investors who want to build a state-of-the-art covered stadium. Smart people would build it with the fact in mind they could have college games, a bowl game, track & field events, and other functions there. And, no, I cannot afford the price they are asking for tickets at any of these games anymore since I retired. If I was working it really wouldn't matter if I wanted to see a game bad enough.

Last, but not least, we do not need Al Davis back in L.A.

- Jim Avery 

Burbank

Do I want the NFL to return? The NFL certainly didn't need L.A. when it allowed the Rams and Raiders to leave. As a past season ticket holder of six tickets with each team, I have no interest in attending one more NFL football game.

How have I survived without it? Quite well, thank you. I have attended reasonably priced football games on Saturdays at California State University, Northridge; played more golf; enjoyed my weekends without the freeway hassle over the 405; and enjoyed televised Sunday night football games.

Is it reasonable for the NFL to ask for public money? Why should public taxpayers money finance the playgrounds for the rich and famous? Why, in a ``sold-out'' venue, should 60,000-70,000 people see a 3-1/2-hour show while millions of other taxpayers pay and pay and pay for years to come?

I don't plan to visit either location - the Memorial Coliseum or in a new stadium in Carson.

The average ticket is expected to be $59. Could I afford that? Didn't you mention the true cost of each ticket after the personal seat license fee is added to the $59? Then ask a family of six how much they are willing to pay.

There really is no reason why we need the NFL to return to Los Angeles.

- Bill Malstrom

Northridge

I'm not a football fan so the only opinion I have is that while it might be reasonable for the NFL to ask for (or demand) public money, that doesn't mean it should get it.

One thing for sure, it'll never be put to a vote. There are a lot more unhappy taxpayers than there are rabid football fans!

- Richard Shilling

Pacific Palisades 

It would be nice to have a team in L.A. But the places that the stadium would be in are not safe for anyone to drive to. There is no way they will be able to make it safe for families to drive to.

We have survived very well without the NFL because we are interested in so many other sports.

No public money. We can't afford to support another adventure in this city. We are barely able to pay for groceries and utilities. The cost of $59 for a ticket is pure robbery! When are our good city officials going to remember that family means more than one person. The most a ticket should cost is $35 for the best seats. The cost of parking, the parking scalpers, the cost of concessions all make it a luxury that cannot be enjoyed by the masses. If you can't get volumes of people, how can you support a team?

- Irene Edmonds

North Hills

As a 40-year NFL fan, I can't understand the need to bring a team to Los Angeles, other than for the rich to squeeze more taxpayer money, and believe me, it will happen beyond a doubt!

Do we need to give a couple of peanut vendors, parking lot attendants and ushers a job for 10 or so afternoons a year to justify a costly stadium? And with only the rich being able to afford tickets, and players changing teams frequently due to free agency, and certainly no guarantee of fielding a respectable team (Remember the Rams and Raiders?), Sunday traffic jams, NFL players having an average of more felony charges than the general population and all the diverse recreational activities here, do we need it?

You tell me! After all is said and done, the best seat in the house is in front of a TV screen. Plus saving the $80 or so price for an end zone ticket!

- Pete Kivlen

Canoga Park

The citizens of L.A. put up tax money to entice a professional football team to move here. Then more tax money is used to help build a stadium or to refurbish the Coliseum. (I thought the city already owned the Coliseum.) Then we get to pay from $70 to $100 to see a game.

Is that like welfare or what? If you want to see good football, go watch the Bruins, Trojans or your local high school team. They are a whole lot cheaper and a lot more permanent.

- Ed Garfalo

Valencia

I would have to say that as an L.A. Raider season ticket holder from 1983-1994, that qualifies me as an L.A. football fan. I am not, however, a fan of the bureaucratic catastrophe that drove the Raiders from L.A. in the first place.

To answer the questions in brief, I must first state that I still enjoy NFL football at the Oakland Coliseum. Not only does it make for a nice weekend getaway to the Bay Area, but it fulfills my NFL entertainment needs. Therefore, having an NFL expansion team in L.A. is not high on my priority list.

Although it would be nice for L.A. to boast of a new state-of-the-art, mostly privately financed stadium, which would perhaps have more of an incentive to offer better concession services than are currently available at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum, I don't think it's unreasonable for public funds to be used to enhance the L.A. Coliseum for NFL football. After all, Exposition Park is a public park.

I would certainly have no problem attending future games at the L.A. Coliseum as long as the home team is the Raiders. My family used to make it a point to arrive as early as 9 a.m. for Sunday home games and enjoy tailgate festivities with many other fans before and after the games.

However, I am not interested at this point, based on the proposed names of its potential owners and political mismanagers, in supporting an expansion team that will more than likely be a cross between a Disney cartoon and MTA's Metrolink project.

The estimated price of $59 per ticket would not be a problem for me. I currently spend $50 per ticket for Oakland Raiders games. If the ``new team'' in L.A. is the Raiders, I would be saving air fare and hotel expenses. If it's not, then the expansion fans may just choose to attend one or two less Dodgers or Kings games. As in most business cases, the market will dictate the outcome of L.A. football.

- William J. Reel

Burbank

If the businessmen and politicians really cared about the sports fans in Los Angeles, they would stop trying to bring back yet another losing NFL franchise we'll get stuck watching every Sunday.

If they really cared, they'd be trying to figure out a way to make the Clippers leave!

- George Jassick

Sherman Oaks

Los Angeles has survived quite well without the NFL. The only visible strong supporters are sportswriters, for their own self-interests, and politicians for the money (political contributions) and prestige.

A stadium built with public financing will only benefit some 50,000 spectators and major corporations with stadium boxes. All this, of course, is underwritten by the government as tax-deductible necessary business expenses. We pay for their entertainment.

Let me see if I understand the equation: The NFL needs L.A. to increase TV revenues so the ``rich'' owners can get a few more million dollars to pay arrogant, drug-snorting, women-battering athletes more million of dollars.

Besides, I like Sunday doubleheaders and not having to worry about local blackouts.

No, no, no to public funding; spend it on our schools. Does the $59 ticket price include ``unsafe'' parking (another $10) refreshments ($4 for a beer and $3 for a hot dog), a program and don't forget the souvenirs. A father and son would drop $150 for a Sunday of football. A better and wiser investment would be to buy a $30 football and play catch together.

- John Auwaeter

Mission Hills

As a fanatical football fan I have to be honest. I love football, but if I am expected to pay for it out of my pocket so I can drive 40 miles to go see an expansion team - I don't think it's worth it.

I have survived without a team here, and to be quite honest I have seen some of the greatest games on television since there is no blackout rule. If the NFL wanted Los Angeles to remain as a market, why did it allow the teams that were here to leave?

No. Los Angeles can do just fine without the NFL and its overpriced plans for a team.

- Chris Welker

Lake View Terrace

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PHOTO A National Football League committee will meet in Los Angeles soon to scout the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and a site in Carson as the future home for an expansion team.