The Raiders' desire for a new stadium at Hollywood Park in
L.A. and the financial strain a $36M IRS lien has caused the
Bengals will dominate the NFL's Spring meetings this week in
Jacksonville, according to most reports.
L.A. STORY: The league will decide on a deal between
Raiders Owner Al Davis and Hollywood Park Racetrack to build a
new $200M stadium. Davis' demand of $20M from the league to play
at the Coliseum until the park is completed already has been
rejected, according to Bill Plaschke in this morning's L.A.
TIMES. However, Plaschke reports that the NFL will offer
"millions in financial enticements in hopes of pleasing Davis and
R.D. Hubbard," Hollywood Park's CEO who has already obtained
financing for the project. Plaschke writes that the league,
"contingent on Davis' plans," will offer either: one Super Bowl
within the first five years of the park's completion (with Davis
receiving revenue from 10,000 tickets and luxury boxes for that
game) if Davis refuses to share the park with another team; or
two Super Bowls with similar offerings if Davis allows another
team to share the stadium. Plaschke reports that the Browns
could be "the team most likely to move." If the league approves
either plan, construction is likely to begin this fall (L.A.
TIMES, 5/22). However, in Boston, Will McDonough writes that the
time the Raiders would have to spend while waiting for a new
stadium could push the team toward Oakland -- where a stadium is
already in place. McDonough writes, "Davis is 65 years old;
would he wait for a new stadium to be built?" (BOSTON GLOBE,
5/21).
BLAME IT ON THE TAXMAN: The IRS' $36M claim against the
Brown family for money it says Paul Brown should have paid
through his estate in '91 could push the team East, according to
many reports. In Tacoma, John Clayton writes that "within a
month, Brown probably will accept an offer for the Bengals to
play in Baltimore beginning in 1996. And the league probably
won't fight it" (Tacoma NEWS TRIBUNE, 5/21). The GLOBE's
McDonough: "Some think Brown might be pushed to move to
Baltimore to build up a bankroll and save the team for the family
if the IRS wins in court" (BOSTON GLOBE, 5/21). For more on the
Bengals.
