Anaheim : Phoenix Club Members Get Mayoral Apology

Anaheim Mayor Fred Hunter has sent a letter apologizing to 3,000 members of the Phoenix Club for his statement last week that the club’s land northeast of Anaheim Stadium would be the site of the city’s planned $85-million sports arena.

Hunter told The Times that last week’s Board of Supervisors decision to lease Anaheim 17 acres next to the club’s seven acres north of Katella Avenue at Douglass Road meant that the arena would be built on the Phoenix Club land. But although the city has been negotiating a possible land swap with the Phoenix Club, the group’s 3,000 members have yet to approve the deal.

“I extend my apologies to each and every one of you, and I’m hopeful that this will not permanently hamper our working relationship . . . ,” Hunter wrote.

Meanwhile, the city on Wednesday announced a second possible relocation site for the Phoenix Club on seven acres at Ball Road and the Orange Freeway. The initial proposed relocation site was nine acres of city land at Weir Canyon Road and La Palma Avenue.

City officials added that they are still considering another arena site apart from the Phoenix Club, a 12-acre property owned by Community Bank and Kiewit Pacific Co., a realty firm. That site is at Katella Avenue and State College Boulevard.