Mythbusting: Vikings to L.A. Coliseum?

Why did the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission reject USC's offer on Wednesday to conditionally accept an agreement to allow the Trojans to play in the Coliseum?

When we first heard of USC's "put up or shut up proposal," we thought it was brilliant, because to reject the plan would require that the Coliseum Commission admit that not even its members had faith in their ability to deliver on their promises to the University.

Many observers say that the Coliseum Commission is reluctant to hand over the keys to the building to the University.

"It's not only about money," Coliseum General Manager Pat Lynch told the LA Times. "It's about everything."

Does "everything" include a plan to bring the Minnesota Vikings to Los Angeles?
I got a phone call from an anonymous source at a restricted number on Tuesday morning that was too revealing not to follow up on....

Here is what we were told by this alleged "City Hall Insider"... Our tipster heard from a source in Sacramento that Commission President Bernard Parks was at a Holiday Party and was overheard bragging that he and his colleagues have been talking to an NFL developer--not the league or any owners directly--about trying to lure the Minnesota Vikings to the L.A. Coliseum. These talks have been going on for at least three months, including meetings since USC's threat to move to the Rose Bowl went public, and that the entire Commission, not just Parks, had been involved to some degree with the talks.

Wowsers. If true, that would be big news, both in Los Angeles--because it would show that the Coliseum Commission has not been negotiating in good faith with USC--but in Minnesota, where the Vikings were recently told by State Officials not to expect any action on getting a new stadium in the next year.

Normally, an anonymous tipster would not be enough to run with a story, but then again, without anonymous tipsters, there would never have been a President Gerald Ford, so we decided to explore the issue further.

Unfortunately, the shadowy Coliseum Commission does not publish its agendas online--doing the minimum required under California's Brown Act to let people know about their meetings, what they're discussion and with whom. A call to Commission President Park's office on Tuesday could not confirm that there would even be a Coliseum Commission meeting that very afternoon, despite the fact that the meeting had been widely publicized in the media.

One person told us that in order to get back agendas or to research Commissioner Park's official travel records we'd probably have to file a public records request--which could take weeks.

We contacted Bernard Parks' City Council office Wednesday but his press secretary, Bernard Parks, Jr., was on vacation until January. The charge d'affaires for communications told us that she could only repeat statements made by the Councilman in public to respond to our questions and offered an interview with Parks, Sr. himself. However, once FanHouse explained what we wanted to discuss, Parks never returned our request for an interview.

So, here is what we know...

Commission President Bernard Parks really truly believes that the NFL will come one day to the Coliseum, enough so that he goes to every NFL owners meeting that he can. Parks has also been identified as one of the biggest obstacles to inking a deal between USC and the Coliseum.

There was indeed a Christmas Party this weekend, hosted by political consulting firm Cerrell Associates to which Parks would have been invited and would have been around plenty of Sacramento insiders. Party host Joe Cerrell is a "Committee"-level donor to USC, meaning he gives more than $7500, and holds one of the best open-bar Christmas Parties on the L.A. political circuit. I did not attend, however, because I was in San Francisco speaking at a convention.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's office had never heard of such a conversation, but would not rule it out. They also tell FanHouse that if the NFL were to come to Los Angeles, neither the Vikings nor the Coliseum are under consideration in their mind.

Meanwhile in Minnesota, Vikings owner Zygi Wilf has publicly stated that the stadium issue, "needs to be resolved in the near future." This is despite the fact that the team's contract to play in the Metrodome goes through 2011.

FanHouse's Vikings blogger JJ Cooper, when asked about the rumor responds, "It all adds up from what I understand. The Vikes just tried to get their stadium deal through the legislature and were told they aren't a priority in '08. So unless something changes, they are looking at least at 2009 to get some kind of funding for a new stadium, which means we're probably talking 2013 before a new stadium could be ready. Their lease is up in 2011, so they will be a free agent with no sign of a stadium deal to come. At the same time the Vikes have pretty much sold out the Metrodome for years, so it may be crazy to pick up and head to the land of guaranteed blackouts. But there has been speculation in Minnesota that they could leave."

So, is the L.A. Coliseum Commission secretly trying to being the Vikings to L.A. and stalling talks with USC as a result?

If we were to rate this on a Mythbusters scale, it would have to be labeled: PLAUSIBLE.