Elway Enthusiastically Exploring Possibilities in L.A.

John Elway, proclaiming “I’m too young to do nothing the rest of my life,” said Tuesday night on the eve of his arrival in L.A. that he’s looking for a second career to top his storybook ride with the Broncos and will seriously explore the possibility of becoming part owner and front office executive of an NFL expansion team in Los Angeles.

A motivated Elway accepted an NFL briefing on Los Angeles on Tuesday and he will meet Thursday with the two competing ownership groups seeking an expansion team to play in the Coliseum in 2002.

“Los Angeles offers John an excellent opportunity,” said Denver Bronco owner Pat Bowlen, “and I think there’s an excellent chance of it happening there.”

Elway, while admittedly enthusiastic, said his homework has only begun and there is no way he will be in position this week to make a definitive decision on his career plans.

“It’s all very premature,” Elway said. “I just got hit in the face with this five days ago and so I have a lot to learn. But I am interested in the opportunity that has arisen in Los Angeles, and I believe if done right, the Los Angeles experience will be just terrific.

” I’ve been in football my whole life and I’d like to stay in the football business the rest of my life. I don’t want a passive role; I want to be a real part of something.”

Elway, seemingly entrenched in Denver with his wife and four children, said, “I have deep roots in Colorado and the people have been just great to me and my family. So it will take a pretty significant deal to get me out of Denver. But I’m definitely interested in Los Angeles, and anxious to learn more.”

Elway will sit down with billionaire businessman Eli Broad, and in a separate meeting with Hollywood agent Michael Ovitz, who cut short a business trip to New York to court Elway.

“John would be a tremendous asset in Los Angeles,” Bowlen said. “He’s not just a football player; he’s a businessman, and he will be cautious. I don’t think he should rush into anything until he gets to know the different prospective owners. I know this, though, whichever group he joins, it probably becomes the front-runner.”

Elway might also meet later with others who have yet to publicly express their intentions to own an expansion team, such as former Dodger owner Peter O’Malley, who is presently considering the possibility.

“I’m just looking forward to sit down with these people and hear what they have to say,” Elway said. “It’s going to take some time to study the situation before making any decisions. This is just the start--nothing can happen right away--I still have things to talk about in Denver.”

Elway has a standing offer to join the Broncos as a minority owner, but Bowlen said there might be a problem with Elway joining his management team.

“I’m not ready to retire yet,” Bowlen said. “If I was getting ready to call it quits in five years or so, John wouldn’t be going anywhere--I wouldn’t let him leave. The people in Denver don’t want to see him leave, but unless I get hit by a truck, the job John wants won’t be available.”

Elway’s enlistment on an ownership team in Los Angeles would go a long way to gain NFL support, which would also include the endorsement of Bowlen, who sits on the league’s expansion committee.

“I know this, John already has a lot of backing from the NFL office,” Bowlen said.

Elway, who went to Granada Hills High School and played against the Raiders in the Coliseum, said he believes the NFL can be successful in Los Angeles so long as a one-of-a-kind stadium is built.

“L.A.’s intriguing,” Elway said. “What a great opportunity. Not knowing what I don’t know yet, it just seems to me like the perfect place. . . . Super Bowls every four years in an out-of-this-world stadium.

“That’s why it’s an opportunity I need to explore. I’m looking to outdo my first career--that’s the competitiveness in me and I want to do something in my next career better than the last one. I want a challenge.”