In a sharp break with other Los Angeles officials, state Sen. Richard Polanco, D-Los Angeles, is scheduling a public hearing next month to consider alternatives to the Memorial Coliseum as a home for professional football in Los Angeles.
Mayor Richard Riordan, the City Council and other officials have united behind a plan to rebuild the historic Coliseum. But Polanco, whose district includes the downtown area, will convene a hearing to air rival plans including one for a brand-new stadium in the South Park area near the Convention Center.
“This was Richard’s idea to hold a public hearing and provide an opportunity for the public to discuss the issue of football openly in Los Angeles,” said Polanco’s chief of staff, Bill Mabie. “The public should have a voice in the process, and that’s what it’s about.”
City Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas is spearheading an effort to return professional football to the Coliseum. Last year, the backers of rival proposals including South Park Sports Inc., Hollywood Park Inc. and Dodgers owner Peter O’Malley dropped their plans and rallied behind the Coliseum plan.
Since then, L.A. Kings owners Edward Roski Jr. and Philip Anschutz have pledged $500 million to bring an expansion team to the Coliseum. Both men are also planning to build a $200-million downtown sports arena to house the Kings and the L.A. Lakers.
John Semcken, spokesman for Roski and Anschutz, said that he had not received notice of the hearing and did not know if his group will make a presentation to Polanco.
“It sounds like he wants to make sure that if there are other plans, they are heard,” Semcken said. “But I don’t know if there are other plans. As far as I know, there’s already one plan for Los Angeles.”
Others, however, have questioned whether the Coliseum is viable.
South Park Sports, a group formed to build a stadium on land now owned by Transamerica Corp., remains ready to proceed with its plan if the NFL rejects a Coliseum team.
Sheldon Ausman, president of South Park Sports, said he will make a presentation at the hearing, but will not pursue the group’s plans any further for the time being.
“I got an invitation, and if the senator invites you to do something, you do it,” Ausman said. “It’s not resurrecting anything, it’s just an alternate plan in the event the Coliseum is not successful in securing an NFL franchise.”
Rick Baedeker, vice president of marketing for Hollywood Park Inc., said his company will also make a pitch for its stadium at the hearing, but also will not promote it further.
“When the NFL wants us to get back involved, if ever, we’re ready to do that. From our standpoint, it’s a courtesy to the senator,” Baedeker said.
But the Dodgers franchise, which is in talks to be sold to News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch, will not be making a presentation, said Dodgers Executive Vice President Bob Graziano.
Ridley-Thomas did not return calls for comment.
Polanco is convening the hearing as chairman of the Senate Business and Professions Subcommittee on Sports and Professional Sports Teams. It is scheduled for 9 a.m. Friday, July 11 at the Ronald Reagan State Office Building downtown.
