Local News in Brief : Coliseum Charter Change

The Los Angeles Coliseum Commission has voted to amend its charter of operations to allow itself, by a two-thirds voting majority, to retain a private management firm to run the Coliseum and Sports Arena complex.

However, Coliseum officials said, the change may be subject to ratification by the Los Angeles City Council, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and the state Legislature. The process might take so long that retention of a private management firm could be delayed for a lengthy period, officials said.

The Coliseum Commission has been exploring the idea of private management as a way to make the stadium complex more financially successful, and specifically as a means of inducing the Los Angeles Raiders to resume talks about continuing to play in the Coliseum rather than building a stadium and moving to Irwindale, as announced last summer.