Marvin Davis met with NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue
Monday night in S.F. about an NFL expansion team in L.A. and
"is mulling the prospect of spending more than" $1B to buy a
"sports legacy for himself and his sons," according to T.J.
Simers in a front-page report in today's L.A. TIMES. Davis,
"who has a reputation of being unable to pull the trigger on
other sports deals, will face a moment of truth Friday when
he must make a $250,000 payment or give up the option on
nearly 100 acres of land at Hollywood Park." Simers
reports that Davis and his two sons, Gregg and John, met
"again last week" with John Elway in additional discussions
about whether it's "feasible to give Elway a 10% ownership
interest in the team in exchange for his working as team
president." Davis will "not ask the league to contribute"
$150M to the construction of a stadium and said that the
ownership of the team will "rest in the hands of his sons."
Tagliabue also met this weekend with New Coliseum Partners
Eli Broad and Ed Roski, but Simers reports that the Coliseum
"appears to have lost support of most NFL owners, among them
the most influential," Panthers Owner/Expansion Committee
co-Chair Jerry Richardson. Richardson "has shifted his
attention to Houston because he believes he was deceived" by
Broad and L.A. officials, who promised the cooperation of
Mayor Richard Riordan and the L.A. business community. The
league feels "that never materialized" (L.A. TIMES, 9/21).
