Flip Flop
Here's USC general counsel Todd Dickey on Tuesday: ``The Coliseum has not benefited from substantive physical upgrades or preventative maintenance for more than ten years because the Commission has focused on attracting an NFL team that would renovate the stadium.''
But here's Dickey last October: ``It's a great college football stadium. It was earthquake retro-fitted in the mid-'90s and should be good to go for decades.
``There may be some seats that need to be replaced, but it's in pretty good shape. I don't hear any complaints from our people about the quality of the Coliseum.''
Well, the mid-90s were over 10 years ago, just as he said. Nothing he said tuesday conflicts with anything he said a year ago.
Additionally, earthquake retro-fitting is not the same as "substantive physical upgrades." Visually and functionally, from an attendant's perspective, the retro-fitting improves nothing.
What the hell? If that information weren't on this blog I might confuse it for actual journalism.
Those upgrades do not last for decades. Dickey is delusional. The difference between USC and the Coliseum Commission is that the school is listening to the complaints and trying to address them. Apparently, it will take the commission losing their last tenant and the walls crumbling down before they realize they should have put on their listening ears, too.
USC2006,Captain Awesome and trojanwahine, all excellent posts..good job all
The country is $57 trillion in debt (counting all contingencies), real estate is going south, and middle-class Americans are becoming obsolete. So fellow Americans, get used to getting by with less. And the coliseum is just fine in my book, as long as it does not collapse.
Did you read what this incredible a-hole Chadwick said......"Coliseum Commissioner Bill Chadwick predicted that USC students and Orange County-based alumni might grow tired of driving the extra miles.
"I think it would be great if they played at the Rose Bowl for two years," the commissioner said. "At the end of that two years, the leverage we would have in negotiations would be spectacular."
Wow, he really has the best interest of Angelinos and Californians in mind. What a power-corrupted douchebag! And, Lawyer John, while we will always face some issues, employment data and GDP growth show an economy that is expanding. The economy continues to grow and provide jobs and higher wages for the wealthiest country on earth.
Word is out that USC might be looking at a longer-term plan to move to the Rose Bowl temporarily and then work with local sports moguls Casey Wasserman and AEG to revive previous plans for a new football stadium downtown next to Staples on land AEG owns and provide USC with a state-of-the-art stadium seating around 70,000.
The proposal would give USC significantly enhanced revenue from luxury suites and premium seating licenses, putting it more on par with programs like Notre Dame and Texas. It also puts AEG back in the hunt for a NFL team with a new stadium without taxpayer financing that has been a big stumbling block to previous LA stadium proposals.
The cost of the new facility, put at around $400-$600 million could be paid for by lease revenue bonds floated by USC, which because of it's status as an academic institution with a billion dollar endowment, could service the notes at a steeper discount than what AEG could and earn a sizable return on its investment over the life of the bonds if a NFL team goes into the stadium.
The NFL has also promised at least one Super Bowl to LA should a new stadium be built, which would generate sufficient revenue in a single year to offset 25 percent of the overall cost of the construction bonds.
The only longer-term stumbling block to a NFL team returning has been finding an owner willing to pay the record projected $1 billion franchise fee.
The proposal would also ensure an extension of the Figueroa Corridor master plan, linking USC with the Galen Center and a proposed Exposition Park gateway entrance to the new LA Live complex being built by AEG.
The idea would effectively destroy the Coliseum and Sports Arena and render the Exposition Park area unusable for sports, thereby paving the way for another master plan for turning the area into badly needed mixed use housing and business for the local community and USC which is in desperate need of additional student and faculty housing.
Word is out that USC might be looking at a longer-term plan to move to the Rose Bowl temporarily and then work with local sports moguls Casey Wasserman and AEG to revive previous plans for a new football stadium downtown next to Staples on land AEG owns and provide USC with a state-of-the-art stadium seating around 70,000.
The proposal would give USC significantly enhanced revenue from luxury suites and premium seating licenses, putting it more on par with programs like Notre Dame and Texas. It also puts AEG back in the hunt for a NFL team with a new stadium without taxpayer financing that has been a big stumbling block to previous LA stadium proposals.
The cost of the new facility, put at around $400-$600 million could be paid for by lease revenue bonds floated by USC, which because of it's status as an academic institution with a billion dollar endowment, could service the notes at a steeper discount than what AEG could and earn a sizable return on its investment over the life of the bonds if a NFL team goes into the stadium.
The NFL has also promised at least one Super Bowl to LA should a new stadium be built, which would generate sufficient revenue in a single year to offset 25 percent of the overall cost of the construction bonds.
The only longer-term stumbling block to a NFL team returning has been finding an owner willing to pay the record projected $1 billion franchise fee.
The proposal would also ensure an extension of the Figueroa Corridor master plan, linking USC with the Galen Center and a proposed Exposition Park gateway entrance to the new LA Live complex being built by AEG.
The idea would effectively destroy the Coliseum and Sports Arena and render the Exposition Park area unusable for sports, thereby paving the way for another master plan for turning the area into badly needed mixed use housing and business for the local community and USC which is in desperate need of additional student and faculty housing.