You can learn a lot about Jerry Richardson by studying those he keeps close.
The 16 seats in his suite at the Super Bowl, for example, went to immediate family members, save for pairs of seats he held for retired Bank Of America executives Hugh McColl and Ed Brown, both instrumental in his pursuit of the Panthers franchise, and former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Peter O’Malley, who became a close friend 20 years ago while looking into building an NFL stadium in Los Angeles.
Richardson made an impression on O’Malley the first time they met.
Asked by L.A. Mayor Richard Riordan to consider building an NFL stadium on the Dodgers’ Chavez Ravine property, O’Malley agreed to consider it. Soon after, he started getting visits from NFL executives, first Roger Goodell, then Paul Tagliabue and COO Neil Austrian. The next time Goodell came, he brought Richardson.
“The meeting was in my office, and I was getting along fine with Roger and everybody else and we were truly making progress,” O’Malley said. “But Jerry didn’t say a word in the meeting. I said to myself, ‘Uh-oh, they brought in the heavy.’”
O’Malley was surprised when, as the meeting concluded, Richardson asked whether they could have dinner together.
“The two of us had dinner, and I learned early on that he totally understood the challenge of building a stadium in L.A.,” O’Malley said. “We became friends at that point. … And, today, I don’t have a better friend.”
