REPORTED MOVE DOWNTOWN DRAWS GIGGLES FROM BRASS.

Byline: Brian Dohn Daily News Staff Writer

Dodgers officials Tuesday dismissed a report on a possible move to a new ballpark adjacent to the Coliseum.

Instead, Dodgers president and CEO Bob Graziano said the club plans to move forward with a $40- to $50-million renovation of Dodger Stadium. The original plan, made public last season, was to spend more than $200 million on Dodger Stadium. Although that plan has since been tailored, Graziano said it will be carried out.

``Stadium-related issues are really a critical success factor for ballclubs,'' Graziano said. ``We wouldn't make improvements to Dodger Stadium if we thought (we were leaving).''

Speculation was at a fever pitch Tuesday after it was reported the Fox Group, which owns the Dodgers, and the NFL held preliminary discussions about the Dodgers moving to Exposition Park. The baseball field would be on the site of the Sports Arena.

However, the suggestion of the Dodgers leaving Chavez Ravine brought giggles from several team officials. The Dodgers have played there since 1962.

The Dodgers will use private funding to construct luxury suites at Dodger Stadium, expand the dugout club seating, add seats next to the dugout, construct seats along the foul line and make improvements to the Stadium Club.

Revenue from such ventures could bring the Dodgers an additional $20 million a year, one club official said.

As part of the $311 million sale of the Dodgers, the O'Malley family also sold the Fox Group the Chavez Ravine land, which Graziano pointed out.

``The concept is out there more so because of football,'' Graziano said.

There are plenty of obstacles a proposed Exposition Park baseball stadium would face. The project would require a full environmental impact report that could take up to three years to complete, Coliseum Commission President Sheldon Sloan said.

``Then you are talking about lawsuits and construction and you're talking six-seven years before they could move in,'' Sloan said. ``And, I'm not sure what the state would do. I think that's a hard deal to do.''

Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas described it as an idea worth considering.

``It's not as if we're adding something new to the area by having another sports team,'' Ridley-Thomas said. ``It's something worth exploring.''

Members of the NFL site selection committee are scheduled to be in Los Angeles next week to review the plans for the Coliseum as well as the Carson site being proposed by Michael Ovitz and further discussions about the possibility are expected.

But one official familiar with the discussions downplayed the proposal and cast doubt on whether the Dodgers would agree to it.

``You're looking at a $300 million project, minimum,'' said the official who asked not be identified. ``And, then what do they do with Chavez Ravine? They'd try to sell it, but it's zoned for agricultural use and that brings down what they could get for it.''

Both the NFL and the Fox Group released separate statements Tuesday.

``Over the past year, we have considered a number of possible proposals to deal with the long-term needs of the Dodgers and Dodger fans to enjoy a facility that is competitive with the best of those in baseball today,'' the Dodgers/Fox statement said. ``One such proposal . . . involves relocating the team to a new stadium located at Exposition Park. The proposal brought to us, one of many we have seen, is too preliminary and non-specific for us to comment on.''

The NFL added its own statement of vagueness. ``We have had a number of recent discussions with Los Angeles civic and business leaders, including Fox executives, about various NFL stadium solutions in the Los Angeles area,'' the NFL statement said. ``We will have additional comments after that committee meeting (in Los Angeles) next week.''

Staff Writer Rick Orlov contributed to this story.