Magic

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By HOWARD FINE

Staff Reporter

Throughout L.A. City Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas’ long campaign to return NFL football to the Memorial Coliseum, one assumption stood unchallenged: that the black community was firmly behind him.

But now, with Earvin “Magic” Johnson and ex-USC football star Anthony Davis backing rival stadium plans, Ridley-Thomas’ clout on the issue and his ability to hold together the coalition of Coliseum supporters has been called into question.

“If you have Magic Johnson going in one direction and Anthony Davis in another direction, Ridley-Thomas is rapidly losing his name support for the Coliseum,” said Earl Ofari Hutchinson, an African American author and commentator who counts himself as a Coliseum supporter. “To push that proposal through, he needs people with money, prestige and connections in the sports world.”

So far, Ridley-Thomas has succeeded in winning political support for the proposal. But backing from the sports world remains elusive.

With NFL officials expressing skepticism about the Coliseum plan following the departure of the NFL Raiders, L.A. Mayor Richard Riordan had encouraged former Dodgers owner Peter O’Malley to develop plans for an NFL stadium in Chavez Ravine.

But both Riordan and O’Malley dropped that idea under pressure from Ridley-Thomas, who persuaded them and other city leaders that abandoning the Coliseum would deprive a lower-income, minority neighborhood of the jobs and revenue that a football stadium could generate.

In seeking to get more than just political support for the Coliseum, Ridley-Thomas conceded in an interview that he sought to enlist both Johnson and Davis as board members of New Coliseum Partners, the group pushing reconstruction of the historic stadium.

“But they decided to go their separate ways,” Ridley-Thomas said. “That is their choice. The Coliseum will move forward.”

Johnson is backing plans by Michael Ovitz to build an NFL stadium in Carson, while Davis is part of a group of L.A. investors that has proposed a stadium near Irvine in Orange County.

Critics say Ridley-Thomas further damaged his standing by getting into a spat with Johnson over a proposal by Johnson Development Co. to revamp the struggling 21-acre Santa Barbara Plaza project in the Crenshaw district.

After Johnson declared his support for the Carson project in an April 6 interview with the Business Journal, Ridley-Thomas publicly raised objections to plans for Santa Barbara Plaza.

In the past, Ridley-Thomas has made it clear that he would use his political influence to boost the Coliseum project. But he denied holding up the Johnson project as retribution, saying he simply wanted “an ironclad guarantee” that the company will repay all of the $17 million it is seeking in public funds for the $80 million project before he would give his OK.

Nonetheless, Ridley-Thomas was criticized for his actions, and earlier this month agreed to resume negotiations with Johnson Development, which has promised to get a “big-box” retailer like Target or Home Depot for the shopping center.

Despite the resumption of talks, Hutchinson said Ridley-Thomas has been seriously wounded.

“This whole episode backfired on Councilman Ridley-Thomas,” Hutchinson said. “Magic is not just a local politician. He carries great influence in the sports and business worlds. Any attack on Magic is not going to play well.”

Indeed, Johnson has won nationwide plaudits for building cinemas in inner-city areas that other developers had long ignored, providing jobs and revenue in areas that sorely needed both.

“This whole thing is about leadership,” said John Bryant, founder of Operation Hope, a non-profit group that provides financial services to inner-city residents.

“With Mark Ridley-Thomas, I’m reminded of the famous quote: ‘If you think you are a leader and you turn around and see that no one is following you, then you are not a leader. You’re just a man out taking a walk,’ ” Bryant added.

Ridley-Thomas, however, said he believes “support has gravitated toward the Coliseum in recent weeks,” citing the fact that Bill Burke, who operates the L.A. Marathon, recently joined as a partner.

“My constituents have appreciated and continue to appreciate an advocate who serves in the public interest, who is not beholden to corporate or developer interests,” Ridley-Thomas said. “If there is a tension between the two, I’m obliged to serve the public interest. The NFL knows this and the developers who have done a number of projects in my district know this.”

The Coliseum proposal remains stalled, however. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said the league owners would turn their attention to L.A. after owners are found for the proposed team in Cleveland, which is expected in September. He gave no timeline for when a decision would be made.

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