Commissioner Paul Tagliabue said the league is focusing on the Coliseum, but Anaheim is still in the running.
by Michael Lev and Sarah Tully
The Orange County Register - Friday, November 11, 2005
LOS ANGELES -- For the first time, NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue said the league is considering bringing back two teams to the Los Angeles market - one in L.A., the other in Anaheim.
Tagliabue emphasized at a news conference in front of Los Angeles City Hall on Thursday that the league is focusing on the Coliseum for now, but he didn't dismiss Anaheim as an option. He said agreements with each site "are not necessarily mutually exclusive." The stadiums probably would be built at different times, an NFL official said.
"We're looking at this not as an either/or," Tagliabue said. "There's the potential we would have teams in both places."
Previously, Tagliabue and other league officials questioned the feasibility of constructing two new stadiums, citing the difficulty in getting just one built. When asked what had changed, Tagliabue said: "What has changed is that our discussions with the city of Anaheim about a potential stadium there have been productive and look like they could produce a realistic alternative."
Tagliabue met with Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle on Thursday as part of a two-day visit to Southern California. The NFL is seeking to return to the Los Angeles market, which has been vacant since the Raiders left the Coliseum and the Rams left Anaheim after the 1994 season.
Tagliabue and Pringle spoke in the afternoon. Pringle said Tagliabue told him that the NFL has an "equal interest" in putting a team in Los Angeles, Anaheim or both.
Although Tagliabue referred in his news conference to "very significant progress" having been made with the Coliseum, Pringle said he believes Anaheim's chances are on par with Los Angeles'.
"I heard what he said to me," Pringle said. "We take him at his word."
Pringle said he specifically asked Tagliabue if he favors Los Angeles and was told that "neither location has a leg up."
"I probably felt for the very first time since this thing started that we are not a bargaining chip toward the Coliseum," Pringle said. "It was specifically presented to me by the commissioner that there is great interest in Anaheim."
Neil Glat, the NFL's lead negotiator, wouldn't put one site ahead of the other, but he said it's unlikely two stadiums would be built simultaneously.
"You have to take one step at a time," Glat said. "One's probably going to be filled first."
The Coliseum remains ahead of Anaheim in the negotiating process, having completed a term sheet and moved on to a draft lease. Anaheim officials hope to complete their term sheet by the end of the year.
Officials familiar with the negotiations painted a scenario where the NFL comes to the Coliseum first and leaves Anaheim open as a secondary option.
"I think they already made up their mind to go to the Coliseum," Anaheim City Councilman Harry Sidhu said. "They are keeping us in the loop, dangling (us) until that chapter is done and closed and then deal with us - whether we'll be a second team, or just keep us in the loop in case the Coliseum deal falls through."
Earlier this year, Anaheim officials said they might build something else on the city- owned land next to Angel Stadium if the NFL waited too long to strike a deal. But Pringle said he now is willing to keep negotiating.
Pringle declined to reveal if the city has set a deadline, adding that he believes the City Council would have to consider that as part of a deal. Glat said the two sides haven't agreed on a deadline but that it is "something that would be negotiated."
Tagliabue wouldn't commit to a specific return date, preferring to focus on more immediate targets such as the next scheduled owners meeting in March.
"Whether it's 2009, 2010 or 2000-whatever, our goal is to have definitive agreements on all the key subject matters well in advance of our league meeting," Tagliabue said.
Tagliabue also wouldn't speculate on tenants for the new stadium or stadiums. He reiterated the league's desire to keep the New Orleans Saints in Louisiana, despite the damage done to the Superdome by Hurricane Katrina.
Tagliabue met with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Wednesday.
"I am very pleased that our efforts to bring a fourth NFL franchise to California are paying off; hopefully we can also attract a fifth team," Schwarzenegger said in a statement.
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Michael Lev reported from Los Angeles. Sarah Tully reported from Anaheim.