PASADENA -- National Football League officials could decide in May whether the Rose Bowl should get a professional football team, depending on how soon a plan for rebuilding the stadium to meet NFL requirements is completed.

League owners have asked to see architectural renderings and a proposal for financing the project at their May meeting, said Bill Thomson, chairman of the Rose Bowl Operating Company's tenant search committee.

"Our expectation is that they would meet, deliberate on it and make a decision,' said Thomson. "It is in no one's best interest to make this a prolonged conversation.'

Thomson said sports broker John Moag and his consultants have at most two months to complete a project proposal to meet the deadline. The accelerated schedule is necessary so that any proposal can be reviewed by the public and adopted by the City Council before going to the NFL, he said.

"If everything can be done in that time frame, great,' said Darryl Dunn, Rose Bowl general manager. "But if it comes to be April or May and we don't have a design and economic package, we won't be going in May.'

Thomson said he, Moag and Dunn will meet with NFL officials this week to iron out the schedule.

"The league very much wants to return to the Los Angeles area, and they look at the Rose Bowl as a beautiful, exquisite setting for a football stadium,' Thomson said. "If we are able to put something together that meets their requirements and our own requirements, I think think there is a very good chance it could happen.'

Moag, who is credited with moving the Cleveland Browns to Baltimore in 1995, was hired by the city last year for $2.5 million to bring an NFL franchise to the Rose Bowl payable only if he succeeds. The fee doubles depending on how much time and money he invests in the effort.

Moag chose HOK of Kansas City to develop the Rose Bowl renovation plan, which he estimates could cost as much as $400 million. The company is working with Historical Resources Group of Los Angeles to find ways to rebuild the stadium for the NFL while salvaging as much of the historic architecture as possible.

The 81-year-old stadium, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, seats more than 93,000 fans. While this is good for large events like the Rose Bowl Game, it is almost a third too many seats for a regular season NFL game.

There are also issues with the size and spacing of seats, as well as the configuration of press boxes, locker rooms and tunnels. By all accounts, the interior of the stadium will have to be substantially rebuilt to fit the NFL.

Several residents told the Rose Bowl Operating Company board on Thursday the NFL project should have been studied as part of the master environmental impact report for the Arroyo Seco, scheduled to go to the City Council on March 24.

"You are just setting yourself up for litigation that could stall this project indefinitely,' said Betsy Bour.

Richard Bruckner, Pasadena's director of planning and development, said the city determined the NFL project is too speculative to include in the report. Once the project is defined, he said a full environmental review will be completed, taking into account the impacts on the entire Arroyo Seco.

"We think it is absolutely the proper thing to do,' said Bruckner.

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