VENUE RENT IS BIG ISSUE STATE COULD FORCE COLISEUM TO PAY AS MUCH AS $2 MIL.

Byline: Billy Witz Staff Writer

Coliseum representatives met downtown Thursday with NFL executives, continuing their eight-month long negotiations on potential terms for bringing pro football back to Los Angeles.

But it isn't the only table they've been sitting at lately. A day earlier they met with state representatives, the latest in a series of attempts to settle the terms of their own lease, which expires at the end of next year.

At issue is how much the Coliseum Commission should pay the state in rent, money that would presumably be passed on from an NFL team if the Coliseum, part of state-owned Exposition Park, is chosen by the league for a $500 million renovation.

The commission currently pays the state $80,000 per year in addition to taking care of any common area maintenance under the terms of a 49-year lease.

The commission exercised a renewal option on the lease last year. However, a clause in the lease states that if the two sides cannot agree on rent, it will be calculated by a formula keyed by the percentage change in the aggregate value of real estate in Los Angeles County between 1956, when the lease was signed, and the present.

That figure is in excess of $2 million, according to Coliseum general manager Pat Lynch.

That the state is using that figure as a benchmark is troublesome to some commissioners.

``I don't think the state should be using us as a revenue tool,'' said Coliseum Commissioner Don Knabe, a Los Angeles County Supervisor. ``We look at them as our partners. What we have now is a good deal, but we're a partner. Whatever deal we have with the lease should be good for everyone.''

Robert McNeill, an attorney who represents the state from his position on the California Science Center Board, said he's just trying to protect the state's financial interests. The Coliseum netted a profit of more than $1 million last year.

``The state certainly doesn't look at the Coliseum Commission as a revenue tool,'' McNeill said. ``The Coliseum Commission is a tenant and the state is entitled to receive fair rent.''

While McNeill, Knabe and others expect the issue to be resolved, some familiar with the discussions said the differences have caused ``tension.''

McNeill is also one of three state appointees to the nine-member Coliseum Commission, but he has recused himself when the commission has discussed the negotiations in closed session.

How the lease negotiations could impact the Coliseum's bid to land an NFL team is unclear, though it would likely be central to any deal.

The $2 million-plus in rent the state is seeking would be factored into any agreement between the Coliseum Commission and the NFL, and would be the biggest number in the deal, according to one source.

The money the commission would pass on could be obtained from the NFL in myriad ways beside rent - from a percentage of revenues such as parking, concessions or gate receipts, or the tenant picking up certain expenses.

These issues are among the terms being negotiated between the Coliseum and NFL officials, continue a two-day swing through Los Angeles today in which they'll also meet with representatives of Carson, the Rose Bowl and Anaheim.

The NFL expects to fund the renovation mostly through its own means. The only public money committed thus far is an estimated $20 million to $30 million in tax revenue that would be generated by the renovation and be put back into infrastructure around the Coliseum.

But while some believe the state would benefit by having such a large private investment in one of its properties, there has also been pressure from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on state agencies to maximize revenues on state-owned properties.

Thus far, Schwarzenegger has not become involved. NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue said at last month's owners meeting that his representatives have spoken with Schwarzenegger's and they hoped to speak about the state of NFL stadiums in California.

Any lease agreement between the state and the Coliseum would have to be approved by the legislature. Although Knabe said it isn't necessary to complete the lease with the state before reaching an agreement with the NFL, he acknowledged that it would help.

The sometimes-competing interests of the state, county and city has frustrated some NFL owners and executives. It's something the commission had hoped to avoid 18 months ago to agree to sublet the day-to-day operation of the building to an NFL tenant.

Scott Wolf, [phone]

scott.wolf(at)dailynews.com