USC Close to Coliseum Control, But Should It Go Out For Bid?

USC's dastardly (or not) plan to seize control of the publicly-owned Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is almost complete. The LA Times reports that the Coliseum Commissioners yesterday "instructed their lawyers 'to work with USC officials to achieve a full resolution on all deal points, and prepare a modified lease' to be voted on early next year." USC, whose Trojan football team is the Coliseum's main tenant, has been angling to take over daily operations at the stadium in exchange for doing tons of badly-needed renovations. It's "expected to pour tens of millions of dollars into upgrading the 88-year-old facility." USC made noises about buying the stadium last year, but really got its opening in June when the Coliseum Commission 'fessed up that it couldn't afford $60 million in renovations that it had promised the school.

The terms of the potential USC-Coliseum deal are still secret, but will be announced a week before the Commission vote. According to the LAT, "USC wants near total operational control of the taxpayer-owned facility in return for guaranteeing that the Trojan football team would remain at the stadium for generations" (Generations! The Coliseum will eventually have to be outfitted for underwater Chinese football.). Coliseum Commissioner/City Councilmember Bernard Parks is objecting to the whole thing and wondering why the Commission isn't trying to pull in competitive bids (at least one company has said they're interested). Image via Wikipedia
· USC moves closer to getting control of L.A. Memorial Coliseum [LAT]