LA Coliseum—Decaying and Underutilized—Remains in Strict Public Control

State senator Jeff Denham (R-Atwater) published an Op-Ed in the LA Times Monday, calling for the sale of the coliseum by its public owners and the dissolution of the controversial Coliseum Commission. The LA Memorial Coliseum, built in 1932 for the Summer Olympiad, was registered as a historic landmark in 1984, the year of the Olympics' return to Los Angeles. But since a major retrofit that year, the stadium has been rapidly decaying and is used less and less frequently. The coliseum is owned by a confusing partnership between the city, the county, and the state - all of which have plunged into debt since the recession. The USC Trojans football team is the only large, long-term tenant at the stadium, and is desperate for a policy change.


Trojan fans will remember the anxiety-inducing negotiations last year that almost forced USC to temporarily play at rival UCLA's Pasadena Rose Bowl. When USC offered to buy into the coliseum's ownership, the commission not only refused, but threatened to evict the university as
a tenant. USC, frustrated with the government's inaction at the stadium's obvious disrepair, offered $100 million to help renovate (and partially own) the coliseum. Denham argues that the Trojans are the biggest stakeholders in the stadium and its future and should therefore have the right to own part or all of it.


Denham also reflects the growing confusion on the part of both lawmakers and the sports industry, as to why the debt-laden tripartite government "monster" would refuse a private investment for public gain. The Coliseum had hopes for outside intervention back in 2006 when Los Angeles bid to host the 2016 Olympic games - a US designation that was quickly and cruelly lost to Chicago. And for years politicians and developers alike have been struggling to attract a major league football team to return to the coliseum. But since the news of the cheaper and flashier stadium in City of Industry, that struggle has been rendered moot. Bottom line: the coliseum is a beautiful and much beloved historic landmark, but it is structurally unsafe and aesthetically dejected, and the public sector (all three of 'em) cannot afford to hold onto it, especially in these times.

NFL is Back! But Not Where You Think

The Los Angeles Times reported today that the construction of a privately funded $800 million stadium to host an NFL team was approved by the city council. The City of Industry council, that is. The council voted 5-0 to approve the EIR for the project, which would inhabit 600 acres of industrial wasteland about 25 miles east of downtown Los Angeles. The site in question is a wide railroad right-of-way near the interchange of California routes 57 and 60, and close to a Metrolink train station.

Neighboring cities Walnut and Diamond Bar have voiced concerns over increased traffic and decreased quality of life, and they have 30 days to file suit against the project, if they so please. Those two suburban towns are relatively affluent, and it is almost a jurisdictional glitch that they border the City of Industry, a town that is zoned almost completely for industry, has no business tax, and has a meager population density of 63/sq. mile. The story isn't new - Industry was incorporated in the 1950s as a dumping grounds for development that no one else wanted.

The project will be developed by Majestic Realty Co., which is headed by local real estate billionaire Ed Roski. Roski, who built the Staples Center and has stakes in the LA Lakers and LA Kings, will most likely purchase a majority stake in the chosen NFL team in order to facilitate a smooth move to the new stadium. While locals favor a return of former LA teams Raiders and Rams, the moving team is yet to be determined. Prior to the selection of the Industry site, officials were considering moving the team into either the LA Coliseum or the Rose Bowl as a no-build alternative. But the 1932 Coliseum was deemed helplessly out-of-date and the Rose Bowl option was vehemently opposed by Pasadenans. The City of Los Angeles on the other hand had been desperately lobbying to host the team, but in the end, the new construction on cheap land proved more attractive. However, some (notably, the FBI) have implicated Roski in a slew of shady dealings with the City of Industry - snubbing out competing developers and securing the land at a below-market rate. The FBI are not to be taken lightly...but neither are the millions of football-hungry southern Californians!