Patrick Lynch has racked up one of the worst losing streaks in the world of sports. He's 0 for 13 years.
That's how long Lynch has tried -- and failed -- to lure an NFL franchise back to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the beloved but benighted venue that he runs as general manager.
Lynch has been told "No" so often that the word seems to echo in his wake, like his own footsteps. In their hunt for professional football, Lynch and his employer, the Coliseum Commission, have been outfoxed by lower-tiered locales such as Houston, and have taken more hits than a blocking dummy from team owners, fans, media commentators and politicians.
But there's another side of the story, which many Coliseum-bashers might find surprising. Despite all the rejected NFL plans and all the talk that the 85-year-old property at Exposition Park is unmarketable, the yawning stadium and its companion Sports Arena actually make money.
"We're doing very well," Lynch said while standing at the Coliseum's peristyle, its iconic columns lined with plaques commemorating past triumphs. "Nobody could ever say that we're not fiscally aggressive."
Plenty of less flattering things have been said. It's gotten so ugly that two state legislators from Irvine and Merced have proposed selling the land out from under the Coliseum, the site of two Olympiads.
Even the Coliseum's sole remaining tenant, USC football, threatened to bolt to Pasadena's Rose Bowl, never mind that the school is just across the street.
"I have the toughest skin," said Lynch, 50.
An accountant by training, he keeps the nonprofit commission in the black by booking the Coliseum with more futbol than football, and by leasing out the Sports Arena to giant rave parties, Bruce Springsteen concerts and an ongoing shoot of "American Gladiators," not to mention ice shows and used car sales.
The whole enterprise -- jointly and awkwardly owned by the state, county and city -- is netting about $2 million annually in operating income, according to its financial statements. It was bleeding cash early in Lynch's tenure, which began the year before the Los Angeles Raiders left for Oakland, the blow that launched him on his fruitless campaign to win back the NFL.
"The vast majority of municipal venues do not make money," he said, noting that the "Gladiators" filming alone will dump hundreds of thousands of dollars into the commission's coffers. "We've had some tough times. We've had bad years when we've lost money. But we've slowly rebounded and we're fine now."
