12:39 p.m. PST March 28, 2006
LOS ANGELES - NFL officials today invited Councilman Bernard Parks and the general manager of the Memorial Coliseum to give a formal presentation on their plans for a football stadium in Los Angeles. Parks and Patrick Lynch will discuss building a new stadium inside the facade of the historic Coliseum during the next National Football League owners' meeting, set for late April or early May, according to Parks' chief of staff, Bernard Parks Jr.
Parks and Lynch conducted informal talks with NFL officials this week during the owners' meeting in Orlando in hopes of gaining a formal place on the agenda for the group's next gathering.
The USC Trojans play at the Coliseum, but no professional football team has played there since the Raiders returned to Oakland after the 1994 season.
Outgoing NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue earlier this month reiterated his desire to see a pro team in Los Angeles before the end of the decade. Parks said an NFL presence would bring the city millions of dollars. Parks' plan calls for building a $500 million stadium inside the walls of the Coliseum, which hosted the 1932 and 1984 Summer Olympics. Construction would begin next year, with completion slated for 2009. Parks Jr. said it would be up to the NFL to decide which team -- an existing or expansion team -- would come to Los Angeles. But the city first needs to get NFL officials "to sign on the line" for the stadium project, he said.

- XXOO Tanya