City Fears It May Lose Super Bowl Fees : Contract: NFL work crews waited anxiously while the City Council wondered if there is some way to guarantee the $1 million it expects from advance ticket sales. There isn’t.
PASADENA — For a few moments Tuesday, it appeared that the City Council might toss a giant monkey wrench into the preparations for Super Bowl XXVII, scheduled to be played Jan. 31 in the Rose Bowl.
Called upon to approve a series of licensing agreements, including one allowing the National Football League to use the stadium, several council members first demanded an accounting of payments to the city.
“We can’t conduct the business of the City of Pasadena on the basis of a handshake with some businessmen in Los Angeles,†Councilman William Paparian said.
Council members wanted to know when the city would get its promised $1 million payment from the Los Angeles Sports Council, the coalition of Los Angeles-area sports and city officials that closed the deal to bring the NFL championship game to Pasadena.
But without council approval of the licensing agreements, City Atty. Victor Kaleta said, Pasadena would not be covered by indemnity clauses covering potential damage to city facilities.
At the Rose Bowl, meanwhile, NFL crews stood at the edges of the playing field, waiting for word on the council action so they could begin preparing the field and adjoining facilities for the contest, Acting Super Bowl Manager Bob Holden said.
Ultimately, the council approved the agreements, but council members warily directed City Manager Philip Hawkey to write a letter to the Sports Council expressing the city’s concerns about the promised $1 million.
It was too late to renegotiate under threat of canceling the Super Bowl, Councilman Jess Hughston said.
“Are we going to back away from the agreement?†Hughston asked. “Are we going to forfeit?
“The answer is, no. We cannot do that. So let’s get on with it.â€
The council’s discomfort stemmed from the unusual method the NFL came up with to reimburse the city. The complicated deal calls for the city to be paid the proceeds from 2,500 game tickets.
The tickets are being sold by the Sports Council for as much as $1,750 apiece as part of Super Bowl packages offering an array of amenities and privileges, said David Simon, president of the Sports Council.
The problem, City Council members said, is that those funds are also earmarked to pay $500,000 to the Sports Council, $225,000 of game-day expenses and other bills related to staging the nation’s most important football game.
“I see Murphy stepping in here,†said Councilman Isaac Richard, referring to the proverbial Murphy’s Law, dictating that things will go wrong.
The only guarantee that the city has, said Kaleta, is a loosely worded note from Simon saying that “it appears that Pasadena would receive approximately $1 million†if there is a surplus from the sale of the tickets. Simon confirmed on Wednesday that the Sports Council would not guarantee the $1 million.
“If we have a sellout of all 2,500 tickets and other budget assumptions are met, that would kick in the conditions (for paying Pasadena),†he said.
Both Holden and Deputy Mayor Edmund Sotelo, who are members of the Super Bowl XXVII Host Committee, urged approval of the licensing agreements, which also authorize the use of Brookside Park and an adjacent area of the Arroyo Seco. The two said they were optimistic that $1 million would be raised.
Only 800 of the 2,500 tickets remained unsold late this week, Sotelo said. Simon confirmed that most of the tickets had been sold.
The city expects to reap a harvest of benefits from the four-day event, which begins with a festival and other presentations on Jan. 28. The NFL has already contributed $65,000 to upgrade the lighting in the 101,000-seat stadium.
The city will also get $81,000 from an admissions tax, as well as an undetermined amount from transient occupancy tax money for people staying at local hotels, which are expected to be fully booked, Hawkey said.
The NFL is also contributing $100,000 to local charities, and 700 disabled youngsters, half of them from the Pasadena area, will be entertained during Super Bowl pregame events, Hawkey said.
“Regardless of whether we get the $1 million, the Super Bowl is a benefit to Pasadena,†the city manager said.
In addition, the game will be a boon to local restaurants and stores, which also pay sales tax to the city, Hawkey said.
Most of the city’s share of the Super Bowl proceeds will be plowed back into the stadium, which has been a money-losing enterprise in recent years.
An $11-million press box, with luxury suites, was completed last fall, and the stadium needs about $40 million in additional maintenance work.
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