A little slice of the Big Apple

By Edward de la Fuente
Assistant Sports Editor

As the world of sports continues to become big business, the city of Los Angeles has fallen deep into the abyss that has been created. While the recent history of professional football has been dictated as much by luxury suites and personal seat licenses as by touchdowns and field goals, it became clear that L.A.'s football venues were unsuitable for the NFL empire.
Never has this been more evident than in the spring of 1995, when not one, but two NFL franchises, the Rams and Raiders, left town. The two franchises' home stadiums, Anaheim Stadium and the L.A. Memorial Coliseum, were cited as the main reasons for the shifts, as both lacked the modern amenities needed for a professional franchise to survive.
The venues can also be blamed for the delay in the return of the NFL. Anaheim Stadium, with its odd shape lessening the possibility of housing another football team, is currently being renovated to better suit baseball's Anaheim Angels.
The Coliseum, meanwhile, remains in limbo. While several sites have been presented as possible candidates for the building of a new football venue, the L.A. City Council recently made public its support for a massive revamping of the 69-year-old stadium. However, several NFL owners, led by Baltimore Ravens owner Art Modell, staunchly oppose the return of football to the Coliseum, citing its area and outdated facilities.
"There is now substantial support for the (renovation)," said Robert Harris, a USC architecture professor who has been actively involved in the renovation process. "It's now a matter of whether or not the NFL will agree with us. They're a difficult group to please."
But until L.A. manages to please the NFL, pro football will not return. L.A., meanwhile, will remain a prime example of sports' new economic nature.
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While the Coliseum remains an unresolved issue, the City Council approved, by an 11-3 vote on May 24, the construction of a $240-million arena adjacent to the Convention Center in downtown L.A. Spearheaded by Philip Anschutz and Edward Roski Jr., owners of the NHL's Los Angeles Kings, the new building will replace the Great Western Forum in Inglewood as the home of the Kings and the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers.
The location of the arena, at the corner of Figueroa and 11th streets and near the intersection of the Harbor and Santa Monica freeways, promises to give L.A. a new landmark to go along with the city's Hollywood reputation.
"It's being designed as an entertainment building first," said John Semcken, the vice president of Majestic Realty and negotiator between the Kings and the L.A. city government. "There will be at least 100 sports events in the building, provided the Kings and Lakers make the playoffs, and there will be 150 other events. It can host different types of events, like NCAA sports, shows, concerts and the Grammy Awards."
Its site, just a few miles north of USC and only blocks from the heart of the financial district, is viewed as much as a cornerstone in the revitalization of downtown L.A. as it is a step forward in the city's sports scene.
The architectural firm NBBJ Sports and Entertainment has been commissioned by the Kings to develop a blueprint for the arena, and was formally awarded the project by the City Council.
NBBJ figures to be a perfect fit for the proposal, having designed many of the professional sports facilities around the country including the Rose Garden in Portland, Ore., the America West Arena in Phoenix, and Chicago's United Center, all of which have been constructed within the last decade.
"L.A. is part of an evolutionary cycle to the other (new) arenas," said Mike Hallmark, design principal at NBBJ. "We'll try to incorporate the best of these arenas and not include the worst parts of them."
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The arena will be built in a new district complete with hotel and retail center, designed to attract those who already frequent such trendy spots as the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica and Universal Citywalk in Universal City.
With sports bars, restaurants and other night spots expected to be attracted to the stretch of Figueroa Street between the financial district and the arena, city officials hope to make the downtown area one of the most popular in the city for citizens and tourists alike. More than one official has used a comparison to New York's Times Square in describing the concept.
The end result will be the so-called "Figueroa Sports Corridor," beginning with Dodger Stadium on the north and stretching down Figueroa Street through downtown, past the arena and down to Exposition Park.
"What we want to do is create a destination for Los Angeles fans before and after the game," said John Cimperman, vice president of marketing for the Kings. Cimperman also uses the Times Square analogy, noting that "L.A. doesn't have that center that most other cities have. (The arena) could be that center."
But before that happens, the project has to pass through some legal loopholes. Although the project has already passed, council members and the arena developers have clashed over the handling of the process that must precede the construction of the arena.
On Aug. 12, City Attorney James K. Hahn demanded the disclosure of the leases, saying that it was necessary before the city commits to using taxpayer money on the project. The Kings and Lakers originally agreed to 25-year leases with the new arena, although whether that time frame is correct is one of the main issues to be resolved.
Also needing to be addressed before construction can begin are the results of an environmental impact study, the selection of a corporate sponsor for the arena's name and the setting of the price for that sponsor to pay, and whether changes need to be made to the infrastructure surrounding the site.
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Despite the arena project's recent problems, it is much closer to becoming a reality than the proposed Coliseum renovation. The NFL is fully aware of why the Raiders chose to leave the Coliseum, and while it would like to have a team in the nation's second-largest television market, it would prefer to put the team in a venue other than the Coliseum.
Meanwhile, L.A. believes the Coliseum, the host of the first Super Bowl in January 1967, can host plenty more Super Bowls in the future once renovated.
Writes L.A. City Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas in the New Coliseum News, a monthly newsletter distributed in support of the renovation cause: "We see ourselves as the entertainment capital of the nation.... It's an anachronism, then, that we did not host what Newsweek has called `our preeminent secular holiday (the Super Bowl).'"
Ridley-Thomas, the councilman for the district in which the Coliseum is located, has become the most avid supporter for the proposal and serves as the chair for the City Council's Ad Hoc Committee on Sports Franchise. Recently, he has received help from newfound allies Anschutz and Roski, who have offered to buy an NFL expansion franchise.
"They've met with the NFL owners and the city in terms of reviewing the plan for rebuilding the Coliseum," said Semcken, who also serves as the negotiator between the Kings' owners and the NFL. "Now they are beginning a financial analysis of the project, and they'll go from there."
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Having saved the Kings from bankruptcy in 1995, Anschutz and Roski have toyed with the idea of a new arena since their $100-million-plus purchase of the hockey team two years ago.
Anschutz, who owned a railroad company before selling it to devote his full attention to the Kings, proposed in 1994 (before buying the Kings) that an arena be built on a parcel of land just north of downtown, which he owned and called the "Cornfield Site." He became more active in the project after buying the team and, along with Roski, began looking for potential sites.
"Downtown presents us with a number of opportunities. It's more centralized and more accessible to people from other parts of the city. Because it's adjacent to the Convention Center, it's more attractive in luring events to both venues. And there was no infrastructure required. All roads already lead to downtown."
The city of Inglewood had plenty of land adjacent to the Forum to build a new facility, but the L.A. city government had become enamored with the possibilities that a downtown arena would bring.
"Downtown provides us with more options than Inglewood does," Cimperman said. "About 350,000 people work downtown, and with two freeways there, it's a more accessible area. We also have the land there to create an entertainment district."
The proposal calls for the arena to be flanked by approximately 500,000 square feet of retail stores and restaurants. These will be on both the southeast and northwest corners of the intersection of Figueroa and 11th, while the arena will be on the southeast corner. A 1,000-room hotel will be built on the north side of 11th Street as well.
"In several ways, we're trying to create a series of interactive components to the area," Hallmark says. "We want the arena to have a longer life than what's happening inside."
The conceptual model of the area tends to remind one of Times Square 50 years into the future. A myriad of lights, either from the illuminated buildings or from digital and projection billboards, will work to give the area the feel of the glitzy nighttime hotspot that Angelenos love.
"We have the opportunity to do something grander than just an arena," Semcken said. "It's a chance to do something for the city and everyone in it."
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While the arena would be a giant step into the future, the Coliseum renovation would bring the antiquated stadium into the present. A new Coliseum may be the only chance for L.A. to land an NFL team, but to do so would also destroy much of the history within its walls.
"The peristyle on the east end, the most recognizable aspect of the stadium, would remain untouched, as well as the exterior walls and the tunnels that lead from the outside to the seating area. But the top deck would rise above those walls and be visible against the peristyle, which would compromise the look of the exterior.
"(The renovation plan) calls for the interior rising above the exterior walls," Harris said. "I find that rather disappointing. I think a better option would be to think about making a beautiful stadium that's more timeless. If you're on the cutting edge, soon it won't be as cutting edge as it was before."
The rest of Exposition Park is likely to be renovated without a hitch. This renovation includes the reduction of the L.A. Sports Arena to a capacity of 8,000, making it a more intimate facility for USC basketball games and other entertainment-related events.
But if the NFL shuns the Coliseum, then what happens?
"There are two options for the Coliseum," Harris said. "If the NFL doesn't go there, USC will stay, of course. It will continue to host everything from the Promise Keepers to tractor pulls. And it becomes one of the most famous soccer stadiums around. There is the potential for a very large soccer turnout there. Thousands of kids in the area play soccer, and as they grow up, they will be watching it in the Coliseum.
"People think that it's either the NFL or doomsday for the Coliseum. I think that it's either the NFL or a different, interesting future."
With the status of the arena and Coliseum still waiting to be resolved, sports in L.A. also promises to have an interesting future.