Legislator Urges State Control Over Coliseum

A state legislator with ties to developer Ed Roski Jr. told a closed-door meeting of the Coliseum Commission on Wednesday that he plans to introduce legislation that would shift control of the panel to Sacramento.

As the commission continued negotiations with Roski over a lease that would allow him to renovate the Coliseum as part of a bid for a professional football franchise, Assemblyman Roderick Wright (D-Los Angeles) told the commissioners meeting in executive session that he will introduce a bill to change the composition of the panel, which consists of three representatives each from the city, county and state.

Wright, who said he has long been interested in Exposition Park’s management, also said in an interview that he is undecided on the new commission’s precise composition. But several sources said he proposes shrinking the number of local representatives to four and increasing the state members to five--effectively shifting power over decisions relating to Los Angeles’ campaign for professional football to Sacramento.

“So much for local control,” said one commission source, noting that a restructured commission would require state legislative approval to issue bonds to refurbish the Coliseum.

But one observer said the fractured governance structure of Exposition Park could discourage the National Football League from selecting Los Angeles as the home of its new football team. Wright’s proposal, the observer said, may help the city’s bid.

After the 40-minute closed-door meeting, Wright said he is trying to “start a dialogue” over governance of Exposition Park, which is state-owned land holding several museums and the Coliseum, all managed by bodies composed of a mix of state and local officials.

“It’s a house divided,” Wright said of the park, citing a study he commissioned last year that he said found significant obstacles to coordinating park management. “There are inherent divisions in the way the park is governed that have to be addressed, some by statute and some by agreement.”

Wright said he was trying to boost Exposition Park’s profile, but some sources watching the high-stakes negotiations over the return of pro football to the Coliseum said they discerned another reason--an attempt to pressure the commission, which already has tangled with Roski over financial issues, into approving his plan for acquiring a new team.

Some noted that the assemblyman and developer sat together at Sunday’s Super Bowl in Miami. Roski’s attorney, George Mihlsten, said Wright bought his own ticket and the two did not discuss the commission. Mihlsten denied that Roski was trying to pressure the commission through Wright and said the developer had not seen any plan from the assemblyman.

“We are perfectly satisfied in negotiating our lease with the Coliseum Commission,” he said.

Wright’s office did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Commission member Mike Roos, while not addressing Wright’s connection to Roski, said there are concerns over whether the park should be managed by the state.

“I think any kind of change is always met with skepticism,” Roos said. “But he [Wright] really said some things that showed he’s not being a dog in the manger on this.”

The commission meeting Wednesday afternoon began with a symbolic transfer of power, as state appointee Sheldon Sloan replaced Roos, a city appointee, as the panel’s president.

The Coliseum manager, Pat Lynch, told the commission at the beginning of the meeting that a presentation to NFL executives at the Super Bowl of the Coliseum plan by Roski and his new partner--real estate and financial services tycoon Eli Broad--”went very well.”

But when a local activist--who had heard Wright describe his plan for the commission to the board of the neighboring California Science Center--asked the assemblyman to discuss the plans before the commission, Sloan said it would be discussed in closed session.

The commission’s counsel, Rich Magasin of the attorney general’s office, said after the meeting that the commission had the authority to hear the presentation from Wright--who is not a commission member--in closed session because it related to the commission’s negotiation of its lease for the Coliseum from the state.

But one commission source said that a commissioner during the closed session raised concerns that the briefing violated California’s open meetings law.