NFL: L.A.'s the Place, Now

Though not as rare as a sighting of Halley's comet, it's unusual in Los Angeles for a big idea to coalesce quickly with the means to get it done. The National Football League owners should bear that in mind in awarding the league's 32nd team franchise. They need to understand that in a sprawling region with dozens of constituencies it's not every day that you can summon a broad-based group, the political will and the financial wherewithal to unite behind a single project. That's what Los Angeles has, and what the NFL ought to have, in the New Coliseum Partners' bid to bring professional football back to the L.A. area.

Why does Los Angeles need professional football, and will it cost the taxpayers? The last question is easiest to answer: Taxpayers have already paid for the 75-year-old Coliseum, and about $100 million was spent, mostly by the federal government, to make it safe again after the 1994 earthquake. The Coliseum and new nearby freeway additions are, in effect, huge taxpayer investments not being fully capitalized upon. And why does Los Angeles need professional football? On this Super Bowl Sunday it's easy to see what this mega-event can do for a regional economy. While professional football must compete with many other attractions in Southern California, there are plenty of people here who miss pro football (although they certainly don't miss former L.A. team owners Georgia Frontiere of the Rams and Al Davis of the Raiders).

The NFL is expected to decide within a month or so whether the new franchise will be awarded to Houston or Los Angeles. The competing bid in the Los Angeles area is from Carson, where entertainment mogul Michael Ovitz and other prominent business, sports and show business figures want to build a stadium. With Houston furiously lobbying for the franchise and competition in Los Angeles heating up, some suggest that the NFL might bide its time, eventually choose Los Angeles as a venue and then delay making a stadium site selection. NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue said Friday that the league is considering funding a new football stadium in Los Angeles and then auctioning the stadium and the franchise to the highest bidder. That would be a mistake.