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).