After the Rose Bowl Operating Company board of directors met in closed session, board President Bill Thomson read the following statement:

“The RBOC has listened carefully to the requests of USC and the concerns of  our valued partner, UCLA. The RBOC believes its best interest at this time is to allow USC and the Coliseum Commission to continue negotiations.”

“It’s clear,” he continued, “that everybody hopes for a successful resolution of the impasse between USC and the Coliseum Commission.”

When pressed by reporters whether that was just a polite way of saying the RBOC wasn’t interested, Thomson repeatedly said the RBOC’s primary loyalty is to UCLA.

Any agreement with USC would have to be approved by UCLA, whose lease runs through 2023, he said.

Although UCLA has given general approval to the idea of USC playing at the Rose Bowl for one or two years, it has not given any indication whether it consents to a draft lease agreement USC gave to the RBOC, Thomson explained.

“If USC and UCLA work something out,” Thomson continued. “they’ll come back and talk to us I’m sure, and we’ll give new consideration to it at that time.”

He said the RBOC would take any agreement between UCLA and USC “quite seriously” but would also consider the views of the surrounding neighborhoods before entering into a deal with USC.

It’s unlikely that anything would happen before the end of the year, he added.

Kristina Raspe, USC Real Estate and Asset Management Associate Senior Vice President, said she was happy with the RBOC’s response.

“Its exactly what we expected this evening,” she told reporters. “We had asked UCLA to consent to our negotiations and we’re very thankful that they did so.

“And now we need to take a lease document back to them,” she continued. “Ultimately they have the final say.”

Raspe said USC thought it wasn’t appropriate to take a lease to UCLA before USC knew the RBOC was interested in having it as a tenant.

“It’s the progression of the negotiation,” she said.

“What we heard is that they would like to continue negotiating with us to reach a deal,” she said. “I think they did make that clear. They said that they were interested in us being a tenant, they just need UCLA to consent to the actual lease agreement.”

A couple of reporters joked that that wasn’t what they heard. But perhaps Raspe heard more than the reporters.

At one point the RBOC board members came out of their closed meeting and most of them took their seats. But one of them talked with Raspe for a few minutes. Then the board members all left the room and went back into their closed meeting.

Raspe and her associate then huddled into a corner away from reporters and both  had what looked like serious discussion on their cell phones. Later, Raspe told reporters she would not comment on what was said.

Raspe said she has not heard from the Coliseum Commission since Wednesday’s talks ended without a deal being reached.

USC is “very interested in negotiating with the Coliseum Commission and reaching a deal that keeps us continuing our 83-year tradition there,” she said.

“Unfortunately we’ve been negotiating with the Coliseum Commission for over a year now, and haven’t reached a deal,” she added. “So we are left trying to find another place to play.”