Clippers’ Rothenberg Says He Rejected Orange County Businessman’s Offer

An Orange County group, other than the one that is building the Westdome Arena in Santa Ana, has spoken to Clipper officials in an attempt to to buy the franchise. Alan Rothenberg, president of the Clippers, said the team is not for sale and that owner Donald T. Sterling will not even consider selling it.

Rothenberg said Newport Beach developer Chris Racine approached him recently and made an offer. Racine, reached late Thursday night, said he and other Orange County businessmen he wouldn’t identify are trying to locate a site and are negotiating with two NBA teams about relocating to the area.

He said the Westdome location in downtown Santa Ana is “unfeasible” because of parking and traffic problems and said he thinks his group will eventually develop a stadium somewhere in the county.

“I feel like we’ve won the race (with the Westdome partnership),” he said. “It’s just a matter of where we’re going to build it. Ultimately, we will build an arena and what the Westdome group does will have no effect on those plans.” Westdome officials couldn’t be reached for comment Thursday.

“He’s been bugging me, on and off, for a while,” Rothenberg said of Racine. “I told the guy no and I didn’t even bother to check him out because we aren’t interested.” Rothenberg also said officials from the Westdome have made offers to buy the Clippers once the arena is built in 1987.

“We simply aren’t selling to anyone,” Rothenberg said.