The Coliseum at the Crossroads : Earthquake has put a huge question mark over this historic facility

Rebuilding from last month’s Northridge earthquake is going to be costly. Government well may be required to make tough choices between rebuilding structures such as hospitals and rebuilding structures that aren’t as vital to the functioning of the city, like cultural or sports facilities.

The first of those choices is shaping up over the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. For now, it is reasonable--indeed, only prudent--to proceed with plans to rebuild the 70-year-old Exposition Park stadium, which sustained damage estimated at $35 million in the Jan. 17 temblor and its aftershocks. But we must also be prepared to face a worst-case scenario: that the venerable, old facility is so damaged it simply can’t be repaired.

First, the upbeat scenario. If it is at all possible to repair the Coliseum, it must be done, and soon. No entertainment facility can compare in importance to a police or fire station, but a good case can be made that the Coliseum is special and, as such, merits special attention.

To the surrounding community in central Los Angeles, the Coliseum is a major employer and source of business revenues. For all Los Angeles, a relatively young city, the Coliseum is genuinely historic--the site of two Olympics and speeches by presidents, popes and other leaders. And, as the many memorable games played there show, Coliseum events provide a sense of community for this diverse and dispersed metropolis.

Because the Coliseum is on the National Registry of Historic Places, it qualifies for rebuilding money provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Coliseum officials already have asked that the stadium be on the list of sites that will get FEMA funds if Congress approves President Clinton’s $8.6-billion earthquake aid package. They estimate that an initial grant of $15 million would be sufficient to begin repairs that would make the stadium ready for the start of next fall’s football season. That is a reasonable request--but the money should be granted only if structural engineers determine that the Coliseum can be made safe.

Which brings us to the worst-case scenario. Current estimates of rebuilding costs are based on preliminary inspections. A thorough engineering assessment is due next week. Should it turn out that a rebuilt stadium would not be safe, or that the cost would far exceed $35 million, all bets are off.

At that point Mayor Richard Riordan and County Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke, chairwoman of the Coliseum Commission, would face some extremely hard decisions, including whether to raze a prized facility and whether Los Angeles has the financial wherewithal right now to build and operate a major new stadium. Let’s hope that the Coliseum proves to be salvageable and that those decisions won’t have to be made.