Eli Broad said yesterday that he would give the NFL $2M
in "earnest money if he is named" the owner of the city's
expansion franchise and "given the opportunity to close the
deal over the next 47 days," according to Steve Dilbeck of
the L.A. DAILY NEWS. Broad: "If we don't get it done, I'd
forfeit it. I'm not guaranteeing that it will happen, but I
have confidence that if [partner Ed Roski] and I were doing
it, we'd get it done." Dilbeck writes that after the NFL
asked for more public money for the project on Wednesday,
Broad and Roski "might be the only" ones with "both the
state and local connections to hammer out a fast deal."
With the call for more public funds, "everybody is quickly
pushed into an uncomfortable corner that is a threat to kill
the whole deal." CA Gov. Gray Davis, who had said he is
opposed to any public funds to help pay for an expansion
team, said, "They want more state money? I stand by my
previous position." CA state negotiator Bill Chadwick said,
"It's no surprise they want more money. They've been
consistently trying to sweeten the economics for them, and
I've been trying to protect the state's interests." Asked
if Davis' refusal to contribute more public funds would kill
any L.A./NFL deal, Chadwick said, "It probably would" (L.A.
DAILY NEWS, 7/30). Also in L.A., columnist James Flanigan
calls the NFL's "demand" for more funds "outrageous and
should be rejected out of hand." Flanigan: "As it will be.
There is zero chance that more public money will be put up
by any city, county or state agency, beyond the promise of
$150 million in state revenue bonds. ... The real question
is: What is the league's problem?" (L.A. TIMES, 7/30).
