Coliseum Panel--Blueprint for Discord

The current situation concerning the Los Angeles Raiders and the Coliseum Commission is a travesty of epic proportions, made worse by the fact that it did not have to occur.

Had the commission acknowledged commitments made by the Raiders, by myself as president and chief negotiator and two other commission presidents, state Sen. William Campbell and M. J. Frankovich, fans today would be sitting in improved Coliseum seating and the first phase of Raider luxury suites would adorn the north rim of the stadium. Instead, the Raiders have announced plans to leave the Coliseum, casting an ominous cloud over that facility.

The commitment was simple. The Raiders would assume the responsibility for the constructing and licensing of luxury suites, and the commission would do everything possible to make the stadium conducive to football tenants--including a seating-improvement program to bring the spectators closer to the field. More than a commitment, this was an obligation that any conscientious commission would recognize as benefiting the major tenants andtheir fans, who in the final analysis are the ones who are paying the bills at the stadium. But the current Coliseum Commission majority, led by President Alexander Haagen, chose to be contentious rather than conscientious, and drove the Raiders to seek an environment free from the capriciousness of so-called public servants.

The Raiders moved to Los Angeles after having offers for stadium improvement in Oakland repudiated by that stadium’s board of commissioners, and they would be remaining at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum if that same scenario had not occurred here.

Despite the pirate image, Al Davis is not the villain in this matter. That distinction belongs to Haagen and his cronies for repeatedly obstructing and delaying the negotiations that would have prevented the current state of affairs. The Raiders were moving ahead with the construction of the luxury suites after reviewing the plans with the commission, and a seating-improvement program was designed that was satisfactory to both the Raiders and USC--the other major football tenant.

In a sincere effort to assist the commission in financing the seating improvements, the Raiders even agreed to surcharges on their tickets and on concession items sold at their games--a condition that they initially opposed. Financial experts from lending institutions and from USC all believed that the arrangements were feasible. Still this was not enough for Haagen, who publicly proclaimed that Davis was “bluffing” when rumors began to circulate about a possible Raider move from the Coliseum.

Who’s “bluffing” now, Alex? There would never have been an offer from Irwindale or any other community for the Raiders to consider had the Coliseum Commission treated the Raiders in a cooperative and courteous manner befitting a tenant that provides nearly one-third of the commission’s annual revenue. The fact that the commission’s majority opted for a cavalier approach had more to do with the Raiders’ decision to leave the Coliseum than any financial inducement offered.

The Coliseum Commission has once again proved to be an unworkable and unreliable combination of elected officials and political appointees who seem to delight in bringing their excess political baggage to bear on the affairs of the stadium and its tenants. Representation on the commission from the State of California, the County of Los Angeles and the City of Los Angeles is not evidence of government cooperation, but rather a blueprint for discord that ultimately frustrates the promise of progress to the disenchantment of major tenants. The organization must be changed.

After eight years of hard work, countless negotiations and legal maneuvers that brought the Raiders to the Los Angeles Coliseum, the existing situation is very distressing. The current commission majority has seen fit to deny previous commitments and to obstruct negotiations, resulting in the loss of a major tenant.

The only remaining act of public service that the present commission could perform would be to resign en masse.