News of the Arroyo


Title:

Lure of the NFL retains luster

Subtitle:

Date:

2005-01-16

Summary:

January 16, 2005 - After 28 months of promises and frustration, Pasadena officials continue to pursue an NFL franchise for the aging Rose Bowl. The draft EIR will be released next month.

Author:

Gary Scott, Staff Writer

Publication:

Pasaadena Star News

Content:


League still considering other sites
By Gary Scott
Staff Writer


Saturday, January 15, 2005 - PASADENA -- If the National Football League wants to place a team in Anaheim, it should take a good look at what Anaheim Angels owner Arte Moreno did last week, Pasadena city leaders say.

In a move that has brought ridicule from many sports writers and Angels fans and a breach of contract lawsuit from the city of Anaheim Moreno changed his team\'s name to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, choosing a marketing strategy over geographic reality.

As Pasadena City Councilman Victor Gordo hardly needed to point out, \"Orange County is not L.A.\'

Gordo\'s observation is true, of course, but implicit in his statement is the fact that the NFL might find itself in the same position as Moreno if it chooses to locate in Anaheim instead of, say, a rebuilt Rose Bowl.

\"They ought to ask Mr. Moreno about attempting to attract the L.A. market from the other side of the Orange Curtain,\' Gordo said. \"It is bleak.\'

The numbers bear this out, to some extent. Although the Angels and the Los Angeles Dodgers both finished first in their respective divisions last year, the Angels took in only half as much broadcast revenue.

Still, the Los Angeles Rams played in Anaheim somewhat successfully for 15 years before moving to St. Louis.

Pasadena is not pinning its hopes and dreams for an NFL franchise on geography alone, but officials here are quick to point out anything that shows the Rose Bowl in the better light.

\"We are in a very, very competitive situation,\' said Baltimore sports broker John Moag, who is serving as an adviser for Pasadena. \"The NFL has four very good options available to them.\'

The other two stadium sites being considered are the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum near downtown Los Angeles and a former landfill in the city of Carson.

\"I have always believed that Pasadena remains the finest location,\' Moag said, \"but getting there isn\'t as easy as just having the best location.\'

It has been 28 months since the Pasadena City Council launched its bid for an NFL franchise, and the finish line has been as frustratingly elusive. That has worn down the council\'s biggest NFL boosters.

\"I have certainly been discouraged by the NFL\'s handling of this,\' Gordo said. \"We went into this in good faith thinking the NFL wanted to come and wanted to come quickly.\'

On at least one front, however, Pasadena may be reaching an end.

In February, the city will release the draft environmental review of the Rose Bowl redesign plan. And Moag said the city is also on the cusp of having a term sheet ready for approval.

\"I feel we are close to being at a crossroads,\' Moag said. \"The people of Pasadena are going to have to decide if the terms and the architecture implicit in the NFL coming to the Rose Bowl is satisfactory to them.\'

Moag added, \"It has never been a matter of the NFL kicking us out. It was a matter of whether Pasadena was prepared to do what needs to be done.\'

Neighborhood groups and preservationists are digging in for a fight.

Sue Mossman, executive director of Pasadena Heritage, said the City Council would have to disregard traffic, parking, historic preservation, water quality just about everything that is dear to Pasadena to do a deal with the NFL.

Trying to balance the NFL program with the demands of UCLA and the Tournament of Roses has also been a challenge. The current tenants do not want to lose control over the stadium, and want to be fully compensated for the reduced seating capacity.

\"UCLA and the Tournament have legitimate concerns that need to be addressed,\' said Rose Bowl General Manager Darryl Dunn. \"We are in the middle of addressing those concerns.\'

Dunn has taken a Zen approach to the negotiations. While others have been trying to handicap what they term a horse race, Dunn has compared the process to watching the grass grow.

That may be a good way to look at things, according to David Simon, president of the L.A. Sports Council.

In recent days, the league signaled it may push back an already soft deadline to decide on a stadium site this year.

\"The deadlines seem to be a moving target,\' Simon said. \"I\'m not sure we are in the home stretch.\'

On the one hand, such news would comes as a disappointment to an already weary Pasadena contingent. But sports marketing expert David Carter, whose Sports Business Group has worked for both the Rose Bowl and Coliseum and is now helping Anaheim with its bid, said a delay could also work in the city\'s favor.

\"The longer the NFL waits, the greater the risk of not having Carson or Anaheim as options,\' Carter reasoned.

Carson and Anaheim both have one big advantage in the NFL hunt: They have empty lots where the league can build a brand new stadium, without the restrictions that come with renovating the Coliseum or the Rose Bowl.

And yet empty lots can just as easily be developed into retail stores that will pump sales tax into city coffers. The owner of the Carson property has plans to build a mall. Anaheim\'s property sits in the middle of a booming development zone known as the \"Platinum Triangle.\'

\"We will be a tremendous sports and entertainment city with or without an NFL franchise,\' said John Nicoletti, spokesman for the city of Anaheim.

No one is ready to predict a winner, however, because there are too many variables still in the air.

\"Everything in business comes down to time and money,\' Carter said, and the NFL has plenty of both.

-- Gary Scott can be reached at (626) 578-6300, Ext. 4458, or by e-mail at gary.scott@sgvn.com .

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