Coliseum Plan Is Revealed

The finance plan for the New Coliseum, revealed publicly for the first time Monday and already receiving favorable reviews from NFL officials, will require owners Ed Roski & Partners to come up with more than $200 million in a Staples Center-like deal, while relying on $40 million in public money, $100 million in personal seat licenses and the highest-priced luxury suites in the NFL.

Roski, apparently unruffled and undeterred by criticism and suggestions that he abandon his New Coliseum project, has chartered a plane to deliver models of his new-looking Coliseum, along with more than 30 people, to Kansas City for a one-hour presentation to the NFL owners Oct. 27.

Roski has told the NFL he will borrow $100 million, according to NFL rules, toward payment of the NFL's franchise fee, paying the rest, as much as $400 million, in cash. He has also told them he will borrow $216.945 million toward the construction of a $356.945-million stadium, which he will pay off with revenue from club seats, luxury boxes, concessions and stadium naming rights.

The NFL, while receptive to the finance plan and working with Roski to maybe add additional partners to his ownership group, still needs convincing that the New Coliseum will not be a renovated facility, but rather an entirely new structure.

This appears to be the New Coliseum's most daunting task--convincing at least 23 owners that a Super Bowl-like facility can one day stand in place of the Coliseum they remember.

"The finance plan we have structured, and which has been reviewed by the league, is a plan which everyone appears comfortable with," said Roski, announcing for the first time that he will be the controlling partner in the operation, rather than billionaire Philip Anschutz. "The NFL understands that our finance plan will be different than Houston's. They are very well aware that the size of the L.A. market more than makes up for any differences in the Houston financing model.

"Houston might raise $45 million in PSLs, but the NFL is very comfortable with the $100 million in PSLs in our L.A. plan. It's the different size of the market."

The Staples Center, which adds to Roski's credibility in NFL circles, has some of the highest-priced luxury boxes and premium seats in any arena in the country, and they are all expected to be sold out by December.