U. of Southern California Looks Into Moving Football Games to Rose Bowl

After 80 years of playing football in the nearby Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, which was opened in 1923, the University of Southern California is discussing a possible move to Pasadena’s equally venerable Rose Bowl, home field of the University of California at Los Angeles.

A move could come next season—or not at all. USC’s discussions with Rose Bowl officials are widely seen as a hardball negotiating tactic as the university tries to reach a new deal with the Coliseum. USC has proposed sinking at least $100-million into renovations at the run-down stadium and would, in return, take over scheduling and operation of the venue and keep a share of its revenue. The stadium, which is owned by the state, is run by a nine-member Coliseum Commission. The agreement under which USC plays at the Coliseum runs out this year.

According to a USC news release, commission members asked the university to come up with terms for a new multiyear lease, but the commission rejected USC’s proposal. On Wednesday the university’s senior vice president for administration, Todd R. Dickey, said on the KPCC radio program Air Talk that the commission had stopped returning the university’s calls.

USC is the Coliseum’s biggest tenant, as attempts to lure a National Football League team have come to nothing. UCLA, which played at the Coliseum from 1933 to 1981, has a contract that guarantees its primacy at the Rose Bowl, but Mr. Dickey said there are enough weekends during the football season to accommodate both institutions at the Pasadena stadium.

Over the years the Coliseum has witnessed, among other events, two sets of Olympic games, a papal mass, and concerts by the Rolling Stones and Bruce Springsteen. It has been a National Historic Landmark since 1984. But, say Mr. Dickey and many others, it needs “bathroom and concession upgrades, new seats, new gates, new lights, and a new sound and video system.”