Governor wants to sell L.A. Coliseum, San Quentin [Updated]

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger wants to sell the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, San Quentin State Prison, the Orange County Fairgrounds and other state property to raise cash amid the state's growing fiscal crisis, according to a copy of a proposal reviewed by The Times.

Sale of the properties, to be included in the governor's revised budget plan on Thursday, would raise between $600 million and $1 billion, although it would not provide relief to state coffers for two to five years, according to the proposal.

More details coming.

[Updated at 5:45 p.m.: Other items on the list for potential disposal include Cal Expo, site of the state fair in Sacramento; the Del Mar Fairground; the Cow Palace in Daly City; and the Ventura County Fairgrounds. It's not clear whether lawmakers would be willing to part with the real state the governor has identified. Proposals to sell San Quentin and the Coliseum have not advanced in the Legislature in recent weeks.]

--Michael Rothfeld

Photo: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, seen in a 2007 photo, wants to sell the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and other state property in a bid to raise cash. Credit: David McNew / Getty Images

Comments

[DKL]

Suddently the Industry site looks a lot less attractive if the OC Fairgrounds or Del Mar Fairgrounds become available.

[jimmy brown]

I have a great idea.....why don't we get rid of the number of politicians we have.....that way we will reduce most of California budget problems.

In addition, why don;t we stop them from charging us , the taxpayers, for their family outings, penthouses, and made up meetings; which somehow happen to be all around .

Everyone should be tired of the corruption and other scams we are subjected to each day in the newspapers.......

When politicians make more money than teachers........we have serious problems.

How do we get a measure to remove ALL of the politicians from office.......then give it back to the real taxpayers.....who care.

[Anti-M]

When all else fails, cut spending and have a garage sale!

[Dolores]

So ... fellow Californians: Have we had ENOUGH yet? I say we raffle Ahnold off to the highest bidder. That is, if anyone's stupid enough to actually want him.

[fleiter]

This is moronic. The state needs to cut the union contracts. Why on Earth should a state worker retire at 50 (30 years on the job) with more than 80 percent of his or her annual salary as a perpetual pension? That's insane. I will never believe that teachers are underpaid again. If I ever try to retire, I will have to move into a refrigerator box and eat cat food. State workers are raping us all. If your kid can't act, sing, or play sports, get him or her a state job. It's the next best thing.

[August]

Is the governor's mansion on the list of properties to be sold?

[gary]

I've noticed for at least ten years that the State Fairgrounds are nothing more than an excuse to keep public employees on the job (maintenance, "admin," and other such public jobs).

This is year 2009..... we don't need the State babysitting us with "fairgrounds" that so few people care about.

It was time to sell off the "fairground" and racetrack properties years and years ago. But the Government moves slow,,,,,, as always.

And the "Cow Palace" in San Francisco? Same thing. 50 years old and a junky facility. Sell it.

The private sector can provide any facility it needs.... we don't need the Government owning and operating huge properties just to keep their buddies in a job.

[utoo metoo]

This is part of the Governor's continued pressure on the propositions as we head toward Judgment Day next week. The easiest way to balance the budget is to pull the carpet out from under the mentally ill, young people, students - exactly what the propositions are designed to do. "Pass the propositions, or we destroy your parks and landmarks". Personally, I'd rather see us all lose some of this common property, take something away from all of us across the demographic/class spectrum, than to take away the programs for the weakest and least served.

[Vince Foster]

Sell San Francisco city hall and let the employees work out of a residential hotel in the Tenderloin.

[Heather]

OK, now Das Gubernator has crossed the line! Don't let that moron sell everything in the state! Pay your federal taxes to your home state. Save California! No one in Washington cares about you or the rest of the country. Why should you care about them?

[californicated1]

The biggest problem that this state has had is definitely its politicians. However, they did not attain the offices they had without the votes of their constituents, which the election of our current governor definitely reflects. He got into that office promising to deliver unworkable and unrealistic promises like keeping the VLF low and cutting taxes. Well guess what, unlike the Federal Government, which can print its own money and spend its way in our out of situations, the boys and girls in Sacramento can not. What Schwarzeneggar, Maldonado, Guy Houston (my rep in Sacratomato), Sundheim and all the other GOP-based and led politicians did not appear to understand is that when taxes get cut, services get cut and this time, they can't make scapegoats out of the poor, the disabled, the unemployed, or the Illegal Immigrants. Everything has already been "cut to the bone" as it is. We're all hurtin', even up here in Livermore, with one foot in the Bay Area and the other in the San Joaquin Valley.

[Alan]

Deport the tax consuming illegals, save $6 billion a year. No need to sell state assets.

[Dion Good]

Selling San Quention? To whom? The only other use I can think of for a fortres-like structure with hundreds of tiny cells is as a monastery or a brothel. Is the state prepared to legalize prostitution?

[arcane1]

Privatized prisons are un-American, and our dear Governor deserves a kick in his behind if he goes through with such a shameful idea.

[agum]

Shorter fleiter:

My dead end job sucks, so I'm taking everyone else in the state down with me.

Except for my betters, like the Guv, who can keep their perks.

[Disgusted Citizen]

Have we figured this one out yet? Let's see... the politicians (yes, Arnold, you are one big fat politician) cry that our coffers are dry (and I agree with Jimmy Brown above -- too many perks, too much bull____, too many good corporate friends making too many campaign donations for too many favors) and, voila, we have to sell off public properties to developers (can you spell Tsakopoulos for one corrupt developer (hello, Willie Brown)?) to pay for state services. IT'S THE USUAL SHELL GAME AND IT IS AN OUTRAGE!!!!!!! What we need to a PUBLIC audit that is presented IN PERSON by the Governor at various venues around the state. I want to look into his beady eyes and be able to ask questions and get answers NOW. WHY ARE CALIFORNIA SCHOOLS IN THE TOILET and WHY ARE OUR CHILDREN DROPPING OUT AT A 20% RATE??????? Why are our streets ruined and where's all the $$$ going???????? Can you spell C-O-R-P-O-R-A-T-I-O-N-S???? It's time to retune Prop 13 and make corporations pay their due for their properties! Then we won't have to sell these properties to the politicians' friends. Then we can have well maintained, well attended schools. Then we can have lots of clean parks and playgrounds! I'm sick of this horrible mess and I'm not going to take it any more!!!!!!

[Richard]

What a perfect time for California to be selling real estate just after the market has crashed. Congratulations!!!

[Lee B.]

I was on the committee to Save the Cow Palace when Daly City pressured to buy this critical facility at below-market cost last year so they could hand a giveaway condo deal to a political donor. It turns a profit on dozens of shows with one exception (the annual rodeo) and provides hundreds of local jobs. Brig. General Hagan, head of state emergency services, agrees that it will be the only local facility able to house homeless and wounded and act as a forward command post for helicopter landings during the upcoming major quake. It's overbuilt on bedrock and has generators, plenty of bathrooms, and everything we need to prevent another Katrina. Keep it standing or we'll pay the price down the road!

[Jimbo]

So Arnold wants to sell San Quintin and privatize more of the corrupt prison industry?

Yup, he's still a republican.

[Sage]

All that steroid use in years past have clouded the Terminator's judgement just a bit.

[Jeff]

Maybe he should pay back the money it cost the state to hold a "special" election that got Davis out and him into office in the first place.