USC in talks to move Trojans from Coliseum to Rose Bowl
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Associated Press- USC is negotiating with Rose Bowl officials to begin playing Trojans home games
in
Pasadena
next year, school administrators said Tuesday.
A
potential lease agreement would be considered at the Dec. 6 meeting of the Rose
Bowl Operating Committee, USC officials said in a written statement.
USC, which
has played at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum since 1923, would have to share
the Rose Bowl with its football rival, UCLA, which already plays home games in
Pasadena.
“Although
we have been a faithful tenant of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for 80
years, we must now seek other alternatives for the good of our football program
and our fans,” USC administration chief Todd R. Dickey said.
USC has
been seeking control of the venue and has offered more than $100 million over
10 years to fund its repair and restoration.
The
Coliseum, which has been trying to sell itself as home turf for a potential Los
Angeles-based NFL team, has rejected that offer.
The
Los Angeles area hasn’t had an NFL team since after the
1994 season when the Raiders returned to
Oakland
and the Anaheim-based Rams moved to
St.
Louis.
Los Angeles
city leaders have said they want
to build a new stadium within the historic venue’s walls at a cost of $800
million.
The Los
Angeles Coliseum Commission has offered the Trojans a two-year lease and was
willing to offer a longer stay if the team asks for one, the stadium’s general
manager Pat Lynch told the Los Angeles Times.
But USC
officials said they wanted an agreement that would include improvements to the
facility and an operating lease.
Rose Bowl
manager Darryl Dunn said the venue’s staff would seek an arrangement with USC
officials, as long as UCLA agreed to it.
“If
it doesn’t work for UCLA, it’s not going to work for us,” he said.
UCLA said
in a statement it is willing to review such a proposal, but that protecting the
integrity of the school’s football program would be its top priority.