News of the Arroyo
Title: | Not smelling like Roses |
Subtitle: | |
Date: | 2003-03-25 |
Summary: | March 25, 2003 -- NFL officials were impressed with a presentation by city officials regarding the use of the Rose Bowl by an NFL franchise, but they also appear to be concern about the feasibility of such a massive renovation project. |
Author: | Gabe Lacques, Staff Writer |
Publication: | Pasadena Star News |
Content: | Stadium\'s renovation plans have NFL concerned NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue and several team owners were impressed with a presentation made earlier this month by Rose Bowl officials attempting to lure a professional team to a renovated facility. But they also appear to be concerned about the feasibility of such a massive renovation project. Tagliabue, addressing reporters Monday at the NFL meetings, sounded less encouraged about making the Rose Bowl NFL-ready than he did in January, when he visited the facility, attended Pasadena\'s New Year\'s Day bowl game for the first time and said returning the NFL to the Los Angeles area was a high priority. \"From our side, there\'s still a lot of work to do,\' Tagliabue said. \"They\'re the same issues everyone\'s been discussing for a while. They relate to traffic patterns, egress, regress, design elements ... and whether you can make it into a true state-of-the-art stadium consistent with the historic preservation objectives everyone recognizes is so important.\' A group led by John Moag, hired by the city of Pasadena to partner the stadium with a relocating NFL team, visited Florida three weeks ago and made a presentation to the league\'s Los Angeles stadium committee. The impression received by owners seems to be that Moag and Co. have a good plan in place, but that pulling it off will be difficult. \"It\'s a long, long list,\' said Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson, chairman of the NFL\'s stadium committee. \"They\'ve got a lot of work to do. There\'s a lot of unknowns how to move traffic, where to park cars, how the economics work, how the neighborhood and environment are dealt with.\' Stadium officials have estimated renovating the Rose Bowl could cost as much as $400 million. With the city of Pasadena unwilling to commit public money to the renovation, Moag has said the revenue could be generated through the sale of personal seat licenses, club seats, naming rights and possibly a loan from the NFL. \"I was quite impressed with what John Moag was able to prepare,\' Denver Broncos owner Pat Bowlen said. \"A lot depends on how the community in Pasadena feels about it. It\'s not the league doing it. It\'s really a civic and community affair in Pasadena. In my mind, it\'s a community-minded effort to renovate the Rose Bowl. \"The No. 1 obstacle is getting the dollars together to do it. You\'re not going to take a historic stadium like the Rose Bowl and make it an NFL stadium without a lot of money.\' Moag who successfully steered the Cleveland Browns to Baltimore, where they became the Ravens has said the first few months of this year are critical. The San Diego Chargers have exercised an escape clause in their lease, which gives the Los Angeles market a potential franchise target. Tagliabue has tabled the rewarding of the 2008 Super Bowl until at least October, by which time the Rose Bowl could make a formal presentation to the entire league. Last fall, Tagliabue intimated he would strongly consider awarding the \'08 Super Bowl to a significantly renovated Rose Bowl. Bowlen said the league\'s desire to return the Super Bowl to Pasadena always will be the Rose Bowl\'s trump card. Bowlen\'s Broncos played in the 1987 Super Bowl in Pasadena, where they lost to the New York Giants. \"More significant is the Super Bowl,\' Bowlen said. \"Could we play the Super Bowl in Pasadena again? Other than us losing the game, it was a wonderful experience.\' Gabe Lacques can be reached at (626) 962-8811, Ext. 2239, or by e-mail at gabe.lacques@sgvn.com . \'08 third and fourth graphs from bottom @JUMP Keyword:NFL @JUMP drophed:League considers Rose Bowl\'s viability @Jump continued line:Continued from C1 \"It\'s a long, long list,\' said Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson, chairman of the NFL\'s stadium committee. \"They\'ve got a lot of work to do. There\'s a lot of unknowns how to move traffic, where to park cars, how the economics work, how the neighborhood and environment are dealt with.\' Stadium officials have estimated renovating the Rose Bowl could cost as much as $400 million. With the city of Pasadena unwilling to commit public money to the renovation, Moag has said the revenue could be generated through the sale of personal seat licenses, club seats, naming rights and possibly a loan from the NFL. \"I was quite impressed with what John Moag was able to prepare,\' Denver Broncos owner Pat Bowlen said. \"A lot depends on how the community in Pasadena feels about it. It\'s not the league doing it. It\'s really a civic and community affair in Pasadena. In my mind, it\'s a community-minded effort to renovate the Rose Bowl. \"The No. 1 obstacle is getting the dollars together to do it. You\'re not going to take a historic stadium like the Rose Bowl and make it an NFL stadium without a lot of money.\' Moag who successfully steered the Cleveland Browns to Baltimore, where they became the Ravens has said the first few months of this year are critical. The San Diego Chargers have exercised an escape clause in their lease, which gives the Los Angeles market a potential franchise target. Tagliabue has tabled the rewarding of the 2008 Super Bowl until at least October, by which time the Rose Bowl could make a formal presentation to the entire league. Last fall, Tagliabue intimated he would strongly consider awarding the \'08 Super Bowl to a significantly renovated Rose Bowl. Bowlen said the league\'s desire to return the Super Bowl to Pasadena always will be the Rose Bowl\'s trump card. Bowlen\'s Broncos played in the 1987 Super Bowl in Pasadena, where they lost to the New York Giants. \"More significant is the Super Bowl,\' Bowlen said. \"Could we play the Super Bowl in Pasadena again? Other than us losing the game, it was a wonderful experience.\' Gabe Lacques can be reached at (626) 962-8811, Ext. 2239, or by e-mail at gabe.lacques@sgvn.com . |
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