Anaheim and Angels Press for Further Settlements

Following settlement this week of one of six lawsuits between the California Angels baseball team and the City of Anaheim, officials Friday said they are shooting for another agreement by Tuesday.

“I think there’s a tremendous feeling of optimism between city officials and Angel officials regarding the issues that have been separating us,” Mike Schreter, Angels vice president, said Friday. “I would hope that by the City Council meeting this Tuesday, if there isn’t another settlement of one of the lawsuits, at least some of the additional operation issues that have confronted us will have been resolved.”

Mayor Don Roth agreed and declared: “I’m standing here with an olive branch, saying peace, peace, peace.”

But when it comes to the issue of the first lawsuit, filed in 1983 and followed by a flurry of other suits, there the optimism on the ball club’s side ends.

“Unfortunately, I still believe at this point that the parking lot--the main issue--will be resolved in court,” Schreter said.

The original lawsuit, which is slated for a mandatory settlement conference on Aug. 9, stems from the city’s proposal to build high-rise offices and parking garages on part of the Anaheim Stadium parking lot. City Manager William Talley insisted Friday that the development would add as many as 2,695 parking spaces. Schreter called the city’s numbers inaccurate, however. He said the plan would eat up 9,000 of the stadium’s parking spaces, which now number about 16,000.

Disputes City’s Figures

“They’re using information that isn’t correct,” Talley countered.

Regardless of the number of parking spots, Schreter said, high-rise parking garages “are a disaster in any form of mass exiting.”

The $200-million project proposed for the parking lot was part of the city’s effort to lure the Los Angeles Rams football team to Anaheim in 1980.

By leasing a portion of the stadium property to Anaheim Stadium Associates, Schreter argued, the city “sold the same property twice.” Anaheim Stadium Associates is a joint venture of the Los Angeles development firm of Cabot, Cabot and Forbes and Ramco, the parent company of the Rams.

“They sold the same horse twice. It’s a very difficult problem to resolve without the court’s assistance,” Schreter said.

Roth agreed that the involvement of a third party has made it difficult to settle the parking lot dispute.

“I can’t settle something with the California Angels that already has been promised to the Rams,” Roth said.

But Talley was optimistic that even the parking lot suit will be settled. “I think everything will be resolved out of court,” he said.

On Tuesday, the Angels dropped a suit that had demanded a $61,989 refund for 1984 services at the stadium, such as a standby ambulance and police officers in each dugout. In return, the city agreed to offer the same services this year at no extra charge.

The Angels received security and crowd control services at no extra cost until the city notified the club in March, 1984, that in order to reduce expenses, the services would be eliminated or provided at an extra charge. The Angels called that an act of retaliation for the parking-lot lawsuit. Who will pick up the tab for the services after this year has not yet been negotiated, Talley said.

Some Security Dropped

Schreter said a fight during the July 5 Angels-Boston Red Sox game that broke out near the Boston dugout showed the importance of having security personnel at the stadium, and helped speed the settlement of that issue with the city.

Although police were present during the fight, which involved Red Sox outfielder Rick Miller and several fans, Schreter said other security measures had been dropped since the city demanded that the ball team pay extra for them. Tunnel 7, on the left field side, for example, was closed during several games because there was no one to guard it, Schreter said.

He would not elaborate on what other security procedures were dropped. As of Tuesday’s agreement, all services have been restored, he said.