Daily Trojan USC.edu

Issue date: 12/6/07 Section: News

Media Credit: Constance Shao | Daily Trojan Fighting on | Students gather outside the Coliseum to urge the commission and the university to reach an agreement on lease negotiations. USC recently announced it is negotiating with the Rose Bowl to bring Trojan football to Pasadena.

The Coliseum Commission is willing to negotiate a long-term agreement with USC, it announced late Wednesday after a closed-door meeting.

"We have evaluated our past proposals to USC, and their proposals to us, and are putting together what we believe are the best parts of these proposals," President Bernard C. Parks said in a written statement. "We will be expediting our proposal to them."

USC Senior Vice President for Administration Todd R. Dickey said the change of course was cause for optimism.

"I'm encouraged by the statement because it sounds like they're not going to wait and they're going to put together a counterproposal," Dickey told the Los Angeles Times.

Only hours earlier, it seemed the chances of the Trojans playing in the Coliseum next year were slim after the two sides faced off during a tense open session in which there were no substantive discussions of possible lease proposals in front of an overflowing Coliseum board room.

The tone was hardly conciliatory as Dickey went face-to-face with the nine-member board and Coliseum General Manager Pat Lynch for the first time since the university's public relations blitz began last Tuesday.

Citing repeated attempts to blame the impasse on the lack of a long-term lease with the state of California, which the commission claims prevents the establishment of a fixed rent, Dickey accused the panel of looking for a scapegoat.

"I'm a little dismayed that the time has been spent talking about the past and not the future," he said. "Now we're hearing it's the state's fault."

Commissioner Yvonne B. Burke countered: "We're at the mercy of the state. We're not going to pay them $2 million [in rent], and you're not going to pay them $2 million."

But the sharpest barbs came in response to a USC website that urged the Trojan community to bombard the commission with letters, e-mail and phone calls.

Parks said that university administrators' poor judgement had resulted in several commissioners and Coliseum employees being threatened, and he received a racially charged voicemail. The response led Parks to call USC President Steven B. Sample on Tuesday night to voice his frustrations.

"[The Trojan community] may not know it's a negotiating strategy and that you did not send them out to conquer on behalf of Troy," Parks said he told Sample. "I am very offended by the treatment of people who work here. That is more important than the games of a team that plays here six times a year."

In the interim, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa stepped to the forefront in attempts to forge a long-term lease. In a letter to the commission, Villaraigosa presented the outline of a seven-point plan he believes should frame any agreement concerning the Coliseum.

"I believe that the future of the Coliseum is inconceivable without USC," Villaraigosa wrote. "I am committed to working together as teammates to get this agreement over the goal line."

Villaraigosa's letter made no mention of holding out hope for an NFL team at the Coliseum, and last Wednesday, Villaraigosa said "the Coliseum is no longer a viable option" for a team.

Parks disagreed: "I don't think you foreclose the possibility of a multi-billion dollar business coming [to South Los Angeles]."

Villaraigosa's press secretary, Matt Szabo, said the mayor and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger have spoken on the issue at least twice with more high level discussions between their staffs.

"[Villaraigosa and Schwarzenegger] have been very supportive," Dickey said.

USC students, alumni and members of the public were invited to address the commission and most backed the university.

Undergraduate Student Government President Sahil Chaudry said that moving home games to Pasadena after more that 80 years would damage the relationship between the university and South Los Angeles.

"For us to move someplace like the Rose Bowl, there's no continuity of spirit, no relationship with the community, and that's an important part of being a neighbor here," Chaudry said. "We would lose a lot of that Trojan spirit by moving away from the Coliseum."

Holden Slusher, a junior majoring in real estate development, said he skipped class to attend in support of USC.

"Being a student who grew up loving Trojan football, coming to the Coliseum with my family ... the fact that we might not play here anymore was just so sad to me," he said. "It is our home and we belong here."

Complicating matters is tonight's closed-door session of the Rose Bowl Operating Company, in which it will consider USC's one-year proposal to begin playing games in Pasadena next season.

"Whether it's ready to be acted upon will be discussed," Rose Bowl General Manager Darryl Dunn said.

Dickey said the university is ready to sign once a lease is finalized.

"I'm not going to jerk them around at this point," he said. "Time is of the essence."



- Dan Loeterman contributed to this report.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools