A Five Ton Gorilla?

29 December 2005 |permalink | email article

Dodgers owner Frank McCourt authorized senior executives to hold secret meetings with NFL officials this fall in a strong pitch to bring pro football back to Los Angeles, even as the league continues to focus publicly on the Coliseum and Anaheim, the Boston Herald first reported yesterday.

A detailed plan, ìProject Five Ton Gorilla,î would give the former Boston land mogul, who bought the baseball team nearly two years ago from News Corp., control of two major sports franchises in a huge media market. McCourt proposed to build a 65,000-seat stadium on a huge parking with a giant retail complex tract around Dodger Stadium. Copies of leaked documents and mailed to the Herald by an anonymous tipster were authenticated by Dodger officials, the paper said.

The Los Angeles Times today quoted political leaders who, together with county and state officials, have long been united behind the Los Angeles Coliseum as the NFL appears closer to selecting one or more stadium sites in Southern California, expressed dismay at McCourtís insensitivity and covert action.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said he had to believe McCourt ìdidnít understand the depth and extent of the community consensus behind the Coliseum as an NFL team in Los Angeles.î Greg Aiello, the league spokesman, told the Times ìwe told the McCourt group we were not interested in proceeding unless we are able to close deals with the Coliseum and Anaheim.î Question:  who is the McCourt group, anyway?

Ever since a 1958-land swap referendum, narrowly passed, which gave Chavez Ravine to the Dodgers in a sweetheart stadium deal, the property has been controversial. Former Dodger owner Peter OíMalley expressed interest in building an NFL stadium but was persuaded by civic leaders instead to get behind the Coliseum.

The real story here is the chutzpah of McCourt, derisively called ìThe Parking Lot Attendantî by the Timesí columnist T. J. Simers. He bought the Dodgers with borrowed money, has made disastrous ownership decisions on and off the field, and often seems less interested in promoting the ìDodger Blueî brand than making the team a West Coast version of the Red Sox.

The Herald reported, ìFrank McCourtís advisers warned he could expect ëheatí if the news of his play for a NFL franchise became public. The move could raise questions among both Los Angeles Dodgers fans and Major League Baseball, one Dodger executive said.î It has. What a PR gaffe!

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