VOTE ON NFL AT ROSE BOWL INCHES FORWARD.

Byline: Billy Witz Staff Writer

A ballot initiative that would compel the city of Pasadena to re-enter negotiations with the NFL moved forward Monday night. But rather than leap back into the stadium derby, the Rose Bowl took the smallest of baby steps in a race in which it trails the Coliseum and Anaheim by miles.

The City Council voted to give the staff 30 days to prepare a report on the impact of resuming negotiations and, when it returns May 8, to also have prepared a resolution to put the initiative on the November ballot.

But with the NFL intending to make a decision on a stadium site by late May, a vote on the measure, sponsored by councilman Chris Holden, may be moot.

The NFL has invited officials from Anaheim and the Coliseum to make presentations about their proposals to a group of 11 owners early next month. NFL executive Neil Glat said Monday that details, including whether or not Rose Bowl officials would be invited, will likely be established this week.

The atmosphere at the council meeting was far different than last June, when the council decided not to go forward with negotiations with the NFL after residents around the Rose Bowl voiced their opposition and threatened legal action.

Instead of an overflow crowd and dozens of public speakers, there were 13 people in the audience when the council took up the matter. The council directed the city to examine how escalating stadium cost estimates and the NFL's new revenue sharing agreement might impact the deal points the Rose Bowl had been negotiating with the league last year.

The city was also asked to determine who would be responsible for cost overruns and whether the NFL's desire to develop retail and entertainment around many of its new stadiums would be restricted by the environmental impact report prepared a year ago.