New commish Goodell tours L.A., Anaheim in search of venue

LOS ANGELES -- The mayors of Los Angeles and Anaheim met with new NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on Friday and both offered competing plans to lure a team back to southern California.

Los Angeles city leaders want to build a new stadium within the walls of the historic Memorial Coliseum, featuring 200 luxury boxes and 15,000 club seats at a cost of $800 million.

"He reaffirmed his commitment to bring the NFL back to Los Angeles, and I reaffirmed my desire to work with him to do that," Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said at a City Hall news conference.

"I told Mr. Goodell that I am 100 percent committed to the Coliseum as a venue for the NFL, and I reaffirmed our commitment that absolutely no taxpayer money will be spent on the necessary renovations," he said.

City Councilman Bernard Parks is backing the Coliseum site.

Jerome Bettis began his career in L.A. with the Rams. (Getty Images)

"The councilman thought that it was a good meeting because it showed that the NFL is still focused on exploring a deal with the Coliseum," said Parks' son and chief of staff, Bernard Parks Jr.

Goodell also met with Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle about his city's plans to sell the NFL 53 acres at the below-market price of $50 million to build a new stadium adjacent to Angel Stadium.

Anaheim city spokesman John Nicoletti declined to comment on the meeting.

The Los Angeles area hasn't had an NFL team since after the 1994 season, when the Raiders returned to Oakland and the Anaheim-based Rams moved to St. Louis.

NFL owners will meet later this month in New Orleans, where plans for a redesigned Coliseum will be displayed.

Members of the Los Angeles Coliseum Commission have said they are growing weary of the NFL's delayed decision on whether to bring a team back to the city.