Parking Is Lot of Woes for Clippers : Museum Threatens Action on Allegedly Delinquent Receipts

Frustrated by attempts to collect what it says are delinquent parking receipts from the Clippers, the California Museum of Science and Industry is threatening legal action against the National Basketball Assn. team.

In January, the auditor general determined that the Clippers had over-charged fans who parked in the museum’s 1,200-space lot in Exposition Park by nearly $140,000 during the 1984-85 season, and that the museum had allowed them to do so.

In its response July 2 to the Legislature’s auditor general office, the museum said that besides facing legal action, the Clippers will not be allowed to use the lot next season unless the matter is resolved. The Clippers, meanwhile, are continuing to offer season-ticket parking packages to the lot in question.

Officials of the museum, which was in the midst of expansion during the 1984-85 season, said they were too busy then to deal with the matter.

For other Sports Arena events such as conventions and wrestling matches, the parking rate at state-owned lots is $2. And according to the 1985-86 contract, the Clippers agreed to pay the state $2 per space. The contract specifies that the Clippers may not make a profit or charge more than the state rate of $2.

As reported last winter in The Times, however, the Clippers have offered “preferred parking” passes for the last two seasons in Lot 6 at $200 for 42 games. That comes to $4.76 a game, an apparent violation of the team’s lease agreement with the state.

The prime-location lot, on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in front of the Sports Arena, sold out both seasons, according to Jack Gallagher, the Clippers’ assistant director of public relations. The club, therefore, realized $139,104 more each season than the contracted amount.

Museum officials said that the Clippers have paid only $2 for each space, rather than $4.76. Because the museum owns the lot, officials there maintain that they have a right to the excess money. They have asked their lawyers, however, for an opinion on whether the over-charged fans have a right to a refund.

Clipper President Alan Rothenberg said recently that the Clippers owe nothing. He said there were additional expenses in running the lot, such as security guards. He refused to provide documentation of how the extra money was spent.

George Gonzalez, who is in charge of security at the Sports Arena, said the Clippers used 8-10 security guards and 4-6 off-duty Los Angeles police officers each game, at rates of $8.25 and $16.63 an hour, respectively. Over the 42-game home season, including one exhibition game, the Clippers would have spent about $22,000 a season for the extra security, assuming that guards spent a minimum of four hours at each home game.

Except for the guards, Rothenberg would not specify any other expenses. The museum said that there have been no visible improvements to the lot made by the Clippers.

“The question is whether we made a profit,” Rothenberg said. “The agreement with the state is that we would run the parking and not make a profit. And we have not made a profit.”

Evan Nossoff, director of public relations for the museum, said that the Raiders and USC have similar contracts to use the lot for games at the neighboring Coliseum but that both charged the state rate and have promptly paid the museum.

Shirley Chilton, secretary of the state Consumer Services Agency, said a separate and more detailed audit through her office estimates that, even after expenses, the Clippers made a $146,157 profit on the parking in the 1984-85 season. The final results of the audit are expected out soon, she said.

In a letter dated May 9, Dep. Atty. Gen. Norman E. Flette informed Rothenberg that the museum will not “enter into any agreement with you for parking within Exposition Park during the 1986/87 NBA season.

“Accordingly, please be advised that the Clippers will not be able to provide parking within Exposition Park to ticket-holders for Clipper basketball games at the Sports Arena during the 1986/87 season.”

Rothenberg said he never received the letter. Meanwhile, the lot has been nearly sold out for the 1986-87 season, according to Gallagher.

Said Rothenberg: “To be honest, I don’t even know (if the Clippers have a contract with the museum). But I’m sure we will have a contract before next season. I’m confident we’ll resolve both issues (money past due and a new contract). Despite what you think, the situation between us and the state is quite amicable.”

The Clippers have a new $200 “Bonus Package” for parking in Lot 6. It includes eight $15 game tickets that can be used anytime during the season except for games against the Lakers, Boston Celtics, and Philadelphia 76ers. The extra $120 worth of tickets theoretically reduces the value of parking to $80, which over the season is less than $2 a game.

For next season, Clipper ticket prices were raised from $15 to $20 a game in several popular areas but the average ticket price was lowered 44 cents to $13.80. Last season, seats were $5, $10, $12, $15, $20, $30 and $55. Next season, they will be $8, $12, $15, $20, $30 and $55. Sixty-nine percent of all tickets are available for $12 or less.

Officials from both the museum and the state Consumer Services Agency said they were not contacted by the Clippers about the new “Bonus Package” for parking in Lot 6.

“I don’t know what they’re up to,” Chilton said. “Why they’ve moved along in this manner without taking care of their past problems, I don’t know. It’s not a very business-like way of dealing with matters.”

Museum officials speculated that the Clippers, whose considerable financial losses were published by The Times in March, are simply stalling payment until the last possible moment.

“We are as anxious to get this resolved as anybody,” Chilton said. “We haven’t talked with (Rothenberg) at all. But I assure you, and I doubly assure you, that we will not enter into any agreement that does not make good sense for the taxpayers who use it.”