Gunzlingr
05-14-2003, 09:32 AM
LOS ANGELES -- The City Council voted Tuesday to back a study aimed at bringing back the NFL.
The area has been without a team since the Raiders moved back to Oakland and the Rams left Anaheim for St. Louis after the 1995 season.
The council voted 14-1 in agreement with a study by the city's Community Redevelopment Agency, which found that Memorial Coliseum was an ideal venue because it can accommodate 8,000 or more parking spaces and seats more than 68,000 fans.
"It's a gesture to let people know that the city is behind the Coliseum and to dissuade other projects," said Bernard Parks Jr., a spokesman for his father, Councilman Bernard C. Parks, who introduced the motion.
Other options include a new stadium in an area east of downtown or near the downtown Staples Center arena.
Rose Bowl officials in Pasadena also have been trying to attract an NFL team. They unveiled plans April 22 to redesign the 81-year-old bowl, though the estimated $500 million project has not been approved by the Pasadena City Council.
Councilman Parks, whose South Los Angeles district includes the Coliseum, said the plan for an estimated $400 million renovation of the venue would not involve taxpayer money.
"A developer will account for the final price tag," Parks Jr. said
more (http://www.sportingnews.com/nfl/articles/20030513/473507.html)
The area has been without a team since the Raiders moved back to Oakland and the Rams left Anaheim for St. Louis after the 1995 season.
The council voted 14-1 in agreement with a study by the city's Community Redevelopment Agency, which found that Memorial Coliseum was an ideal venue because it can accommodate 8,000 or more parking spaces and seats more than 68,000 fans.
"It's a gesture to let people know that the city is behind the Coliseum and to dissuade other projects," said Bernard Parks Jr., a spokesman for his father, Councilman Bernard C. Parks, who introduced the motion.
Other options include a new stadium in an area east of downtown or near the downtown Staples Center arena.
Rose Bowl officials in Pasadena also have been trying to attract an NFL team. They unveiled plans April 22 to redesign the 81-year-old bowl, though the estimated $500 million project has not been approved by the Pasadena City Council.
Councilman Parks, whose South Los Angeles district includes the Coliseum, said the plan for an estimated $400 million renovation of the venue would not involve taxpayer money.
"A developer will account for the final price tag," Parks Jr. said
more (http://www.sportingnews.com/nfl/articles/20030513/473507.html)