California.

A private firm hired to renovate the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum said in late August that it cannot afford to proceed with the plan, which was developed to help keep the Los Angeles Raiders football team in the city.

In a recent letter to the commission overseeing the stadium, Spectacor Management Limited Partnership said the recession and other economic factors hampered its efforts to arrange private financing for the $116 million renovation plan.

Spectacor, which will continue to manage the Coliseum, suggested that some sort of public financing or guarantee is needed to carry out the renovation.

Commission officials are studying alternatives for keeping the renovation plan alive.

Other California cities in recent years tried wooing the Raiders away from Los Angeles when the team's owner, Al Davis, expressed dissatisfaction with conditions at the 70-year-old stadium.

Irwindale, Oakland, and Sacramento developed proposals for the Raiders, with proposed municipal bond issues playing a role in their plans. But Mr. Davis agreed in 1990 to stay in Los Angeles after commission officials reached an agreement with Spectacor to build luxury boxes and other improvements at the Coliseum.

A Raiders spokeswoman expressed disappointment last week at Spectacor's announcement.

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