OVITZ ON THE COMEBACK TRAIL: EYEING NFL TEAM FOR L.A.?

          The "inevitable comeback" of Michael Ovitz is
     "underway," according to Bruce Orwall of the WALL STREET
     JOURNAL.  Ovitz is joining with OH-based Glimcher Realty
     Trust on a plan to build malls with sports and entertainment
     themes in areas "such as" Columbus, OH, and Newark, NJ. 
     Ovitz has also put together a group looking to land an NFL
     team in L.A. with plans to build a stadium adjacent to a
     Glimcher mall in Carson, CA.  Glimcher Chair & CEO Herb
     Glimcher declined comment on whether he would be involved in
     the NFL project.  Orwell writes that two weeks ago, Ovitz
     and his partners presented the league with a plan backed by
     $750M in prospective financing from Bank of America. 
     Previously, Ovitz was in talks to join with investors led by
     NHL Kings co-Owner Ed Roski to bring an NFL team to the L.A.
     Coliseum.  But "those discussions ended recently."  Roski:
     "I guess he decided he would like to go in his own
     direction."  So Ovitz began working with "entertainment
     architect" David Rockwell on the Carson site and the two put
     together a design for a $350M privately financed stadium
     near the mall complex. Orwell adds that the effort to bring
     an NFL team back to L.A. "is putting Mr. Ovitz's famed deal-
     making skills to the test" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 3/27).