L.A. Mayor Richard Riordan said Wednesday he will fight an
effort to lure the Raiders to a new 65,000-seat stadium at
Hollywood Park in Inglewood, CA, and concentrate on improving the
L.A. Coliseum. While acknowledging that the possibility of a new
stadium in L.A. is not likely, Riordan thinks the Coliseum can be
a competitive venue: "I'm not going to give up on the Coliseum.
... With all of the environmental and other problems, it's hard
to think of another really good site in the City of Los Angeles."
Riordan said the city could improve the Coliseum site with
"renovation, the addition of luxury boxes and improved safety in
Exposition Park." Riordan brokered the deal to keep the Raiders
at the Coliseum in 1991, and thinks the Coliseum Commission needs
to prove to the NFL and Al Davis that the promised upgrades will
be delivered: "They have an open mind. They haven't said no.
But they effectively keep saying 'show me.' And we think we can
show them." NFL Dir of Communications Greg Aiello said the
league thinks "their is still a chance the Coliseum can be
improved," but is still looking at possibilities for a new
stadium. Aiello: "We haven't ruled out anything and we'll
continue to talk to Mayor Riordan on these issues as we continue
to try to see a new stadium built in Los Angeles or a stadium
that meets the needs of the teams." Hollywood Park Inc. board
member Harry Ornest: "The mayor and other politicians aligned
with the Coliseum are desperate. ... The whole world knows that
Raiders attendance is adversely affected because of the
outmodeled, ill-placed Coliseum" (Mark Katches, L.A. DAILY NEWS,
12/22).
