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Editorial: Sell the L.A. Coliseum

It could net the state hundreds of millions

2/28/2008

An Orange County Register editorial

Some good ideas just won't die. Four years ago when state government suffered from a budget deficit, Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said it would be a good idea to sell valuable, underused and unneeded state property. Not much came of it, other than Caltrans unloading 629 miscellaneous excess parcels of land for about $87 million a few years later.

This year as the state suffers from yet another budget deficit, a pair of Republican legislators say it's a good idea to sell the state's interest in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, which is underused, valuable and arguably unneeded (at least by state government). The state could gain $400 million to $750 million if a buyer can be found and a few obstacles overcome, according to Assemblyman Chuck DeVore of Irvine.

One obstacle may be the state's entanglement with the city and county of Los Angeles in a joint powers' agreement in which all three public agencies have ownership interest in the complex that includes the Coliseum and adjacent Sports Arena. Generally, the state owns the land, and the city and county share ownership of the structures.

But there is powerful motivation, at least from the state's perspective, said DeVore, who with state Sen. Jeffrey Denham of Merced is author of two bills to authorize the sale. The state faces billions of dollars in deficits through June 2009. The proceeds from a sale, DeVore calculates, could reduce by as much as $75 million a year the principle and interest payments on debt-reduction bonds issued the last time the state faced a huge deficit.

DeVore suggests the University of Southern California, which this month renewed a 47-year lease to play football in the Coliseum, may be interested in acquiring the facility, then attracting a professional football team to share the stadium. For the record, a USC spokesman said the school has no position on the bills. Another obstacle may be the parochial interests of Los Angeles city and county political factions, reluctant to give up control of the landmark.

But realistically, as DeVore noted, neither the state, county nor city is in a financial position to make improvements necessary to attract a professional team to the complex. Moreover, even if USC passes on the opportunity to gain control of the complex where its football team has played since 1923, a private consortium of investors could be interested, DeVore said.

Any sale promises to be complex, considering the joint ownerships, restrictions because of the Coliseum's national landmark status and existing leases. Nevertheless, we think it's worth a try for the state and its public partners to explore a sale. As DeVore notes, a sale would benefit public agencies' budgets while creating a financial benefit to the surrounding community in private development and jobs. A hearing on DeVore's bill may be held Friday, and on Denham's in March.