The Freedom Bowl and Anaheim’s Commitment to It

Re your article (June 26) about the City of Anaheim’s interest-free loan to the Freedom Bowl:

The city agreed to lend to the Freedom Bowl organizers $125,000, to be paid back over a three-year period beginning in 1992, at no interest. The Anaheim Visitor and Convention Bureau is lending another $125,000 under the same terms. What you neglected to point out is that for every dollar the city lends, the private sector in Orange County is giving $2. Organizations and businesses are contributing $250,000 to meet the obligations of the Freedom Bowl. That tells Anaheim’s city leaders that there is a private sector commitment behind this event.

Regarding the economic impact of the game, the city has already earned a profit from the Freedom Bowl of $168,000. This is in the form of parking revenue, concession income and stadium rental. Anaheim Stadium would have literally sat empty on the two nights of the Freedom Bowl games.

The Anaheim-Orange County economy received more than $12 million because of the 22,350 students, players and family members who spent money in our shops, restaurants, hotels and motels, and on cabs and recreational attractions, while in Anaheim for the Freedom Bowl.

It’s possible that if Anaheim’s civic leaders in 1955 thought the way reporter Chris Dufresne feels today, Anaheim wouldn’t be the home of Disneyland. Neither would we have been able to build one of the busiest convention centers in the world or be the home of the California Angels or the Los Angeles Rams. Nor would we be the destination of more than 34 million tourists every year.

Anaheim has a tradition of taking calculated risks. It’s that innovative spirit and community pride that has literally put Anaheim on the map. And we’re not resting on our laurels. We will keep taking risks--carefully calculated ones--to ensure the future of the citizens of Anaheim. We are confident that the Freedom Bowl will become one of the premiere sporting events in the country, making the citizens of Orange County, and maybe even a few reporters, proud of the City of Anaheim.

DON ROTH

Mayor

City of Anaheim