Voters Get To Decide NFL's Rose Bowl Future

The City Council will let voters decide whether to offer the National Football League a long-term lease to play at the Rose Bowl.

The council split on the lease offer, but voted unanimously Monday to put the proposal measure on the November ballot. If approved, the city would offer the NFL a 25-year lease in exchange for a $500 million stadium renovation, $500,000 a year in rent and other considerations.

City Councilman Chris Holden, the initiative's chief sponsor, said the measure would pay for needed renovations to the facility, home of the UCLA football team and the annual Rose Bowl game.

Holden said the other alternative was to pass a local tax.

The measure has some powerful and vocal opponents, including Mayor Bill Bogaard, other council members and preservationists. Pasadena First, a preservation group, has already filed a lawsuit to invalidate the initiative.

The Los Angeles area has been without an NFL football team for more than a decade. Los Angeles, Anaheim, Pasadena and Carson have all told the NFL they want to be home to a team.

A committee of NFL owners heard presentations last week from officials representing Los Angeles, Anaheim and Pasadena. The owners also heard from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who suggested the area was big enough for two teams.

Pasadena is considered a long shot, no matter how many teams land in the area.

The owners are scheduled to meet later this month for more talks on Los Angeles area football.

Los Angeles, the nation's second-largest TV market, was left without a team when the Rams and Raiders both left after the 1994 season.