Group approves stadium
proposal
RBOC closer to bid for NFL
franchise
February 08, 2002
By Gabe Lacques
Staff Writer
PASADENA - The city's Economic Development and Technology
Committee approved the Rose Bowl Operating Committee's
three-year business plan on Wednesday night, bringing the RBOC
closer to making a bid for an NFL franchise.
The business plan states that luring a
major new tenant - possibly an NFL team - to the Rose Bowl is
paramount to the stadium's survival. Now it moves on to a City
Council vote on Monday night, where it is expected to pass.
After that, it merely means the RBOC
can talk to prospective franchises interested in relocating.
Committee members felt giving the RBOC that right was important.
"I don't view this as in any way
committing to the NFL," said Councilman Victor Gordo.
"We owe it to our community to explore the possibility; to
do otherwise would be negligent. It's prudent that we begin to
explore the possibility."
Several area residents spoke during the
public comment portion of the meeting to air their concerns over
quality of life and environmental issues.
Norm Parker, president of the Linda
Vista-Annandale Association, questioned the viability of
insulating surrounding neighborhoods from air and noise
pollution created by an estimated 1 million fans who would visit
the Arroyo Seco during an NFL season.
The residents are expected to create a
more vocal presence at Monday's council meeting, even though
many expect the council to approve the plan.
"It's a foregone conclusion it
will be approved," said Albert Greenstein, a Linda
Vista-Annandale board member. "In a way, the RBOC has no
choice. They have to get a major tenant to remain viable. I have
no quarrel with that."
Greenstein also said he couldn't fathom
Pasadena actually winning a battle with Los Angeles to lure an
NFL team to the second-largest media market, which has been
without pro football since the 1994 season.
One resident who did voice his approval
of pursuing an NFL team was Del Yarbrough, president of the
Pasadena chapter of the National Association for the Advancement
of Colored People, Yarbrough, who lives on West Mountain Drive
on the stadium's east side, said the benefits of an NFL team in
Pasadena would far outweigh the increased traffic and pollution.
-- Gabe Lacques can be reached at (626)
962-8811, Ext. 2239, or at gabe.lacques@sgvn.com.