City Had to Renovate Coliseum
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Did the public waste $115 million in funding earthquake repairs for the Coliseum, now that it is apparent that the NFL has shunned the facility?
City officials said they had no choice but to repair the damaged structure because it is designated as a national historical site.
“If the Washington Monument breaks, you are obligated to fix it,” Steve Soboroff of the Coliseum Commission said.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency and state funded the renovation, originally projected at $33 million. The price quickly escalated.
“We could have done nothing and ended up with a Coliseum like you have in Rome,” City Councilman John Ferraro said. “Once we got started, there was no turning back.”
Although the $115 million might have been better spent on poor neighborhoods, Ferraro said city officials did not have that choice.
“Certain money is earmarked for certain things in government,” he said.
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