ORANGE COUNTY 1990 : Business Is Booming for Sports : Outlook: With the dawning of a new decade comes the promise of a bountiful era for players and fans in the county.

The place, Orange County. The time, a typical week in the mid-1990s. The freeways leading to Los Angeles are impassable as always, but avid sports fans no longer need to make a long trip in order to get their fill of major league fare.

Among the choices close to home is a National Basketball Assn. game at the recently opened 20,000-seat sports arena. The local hockey team, part of the National Hockey League’s second wave of expansion in the decade, takes to the ice the next day. And there’s always the option of heading over to Anaheim Stadium, where the defending American League champion Angels are humiliating another foe in front of another packed house. You can eat a good dinner and not miss the game because the new restaurant overlooks the field.

Not enough variety? Los Alamitos Race Course, recognized as one of the country’s major harness tracks, is offering its usual plump purses; for golf fans, there’s one of the Ladies Professional Golf Assn.’s regular stops. Sailing enthusiasts can watch the United States’ representative in the America’s Cup competition in training. Or one can take in a college football game at UC Irvine.

Tennis anyone? The men’s tour is staging a big-money, big-name tournament. Of course, there’s no forgetting the Rams, an established National Football League threat thanks to the talent they stockpiled in the last drafts of the 1980s. These days, people speak of them with the same reverence as the great Green Bay Packer teams of the 1960s.

With the dawning of a new decade comes the promise of a bountiful era for sports in Orange County. Several key elements already are in place: the Angels, who will celebrate their 25th anniversary at the Big A in 1991, signed pitcher Mark Langston to lead their impressive pitching staff into the 1990s. The Rams, who have called Anaheim home since 1980, stayed competitive in the late ‘80s as they rebuilt their roster and restructured their offense. With Jim Everett at quarterback, they should be a powerhouse for years.

As the ‘90s begin, groups in Anaheim and Santa Ana are polishing plans to build an arena that could lure an NBA or NHL team. Those plans are still gleams in their creators’ eyes, but the prospects are good that sports will flourish in Orange County in the coming decade.

A TALE OF TWO ARENAS

The key ingredient in improving the county’s sports menu is an arena that would house an NBA or NHL team--perhaps both--as well as soccer, volleyball and family-oriented events such as circuses and ice shows. One of two current proposals could succeed but certainly not both; Anaheim’s arena would open for the 1991-92 basketball and hockey seasons and Santa Ana’s for 1992-93.

“An arena would be a natural augmentation of Disneyland and the existing stadium. Not too many communities have all that,” said Al Gobar of Gobar and Associates, a Brea consulting firm. Gobar has done feasibility studies for more than 25 arenas and stadiums around the country, including Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego, Seattle’s Kingdome and the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, N.Y. He is not involved with the Anaheim or Santa Ana proposals, however.

The opening of a sports arena, Gobar has found, has community-wide impact.

“There’s the quality of life. It broadens the range of things people have available and it gives the area a heightened image,” he said. “I’ve seen studies that say it enhances the area’s ability to attract industry, but I think that’s stretching it. The real benefit comes out when events are televised nationally from the arena, which makes people aware of the area. How many times did you hear about the Meadowlands before they built an arena there? It results in pride and all those intangibles.”

That pride also could help loosen purse strings when it comes to paying for the arena.

“The first study I did was in San Diego, and I remember at that time talking to somebody and saying I was paying for Angels Stadium indirectly and even though I wasn’t a baseball fan, I thought it was worth it,” Gobar said. “The way I figured it, it was something like $38 a year (in taxes) then but it was worth it in case I ever wanted to go . . . In Atlanta, one of the studies done found that probably only 110,000 people out of the entire Atlanta population go to Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. You can argue that these people get a special benefit, but everyone benefits.”

The crucial question concerns the arena’s primary tenants. Having just expanded, the NBA isn’t likely to grow again in the foreseeable future. The Seattle SuperSonics are near the end of their lease at the Seattle Center Coliseum and reportedly are interested in moving, but several other cities are vying for the Sonics’ affections and their franchise.

“At this point, we have no further plans for expansion,” NBA spokeswoman Cheri White said. “As for another franchise moving there, we wouldn’t have any comment because it wouldn’t be the NBA that would initiate that. We have not had any team come forth and say they want to relocate. There would be a procedure which would involve the Board of Governors, but no team has said they want to move.”

Close observers, though, see the relocation of an existing team as Orange County’s best shot at getting a team. “I think the NBA is pretty much set with expansion. I don’t envision any additional expansion,” said Andy Roeser, vice president of business operations for the Clippers. “If the NBA is going to be in Orange County, it’s going to be an existing team. If Orange County gets a building, it would only be a matter of time before the building gets a team.”

But don’t expect that team to be the Clippers, even though they haven’t hidden their displeasure with the L.A. Sports Arena and seem a logical candidate to hop over to Orange County.

“Our expectation is to build a new arena in L.A. that would be the Clippers’ home for the long, long term,” Roeser said. “The likelihood is that that will happen. If it doesn’t, the Clippers would look to find a first-class home and Orange County would be one of the top candidates.”

The NHL favors adding a team on the West Coast to ease travel for the Kings and Vancouver Canucks. However, Orange County is a step behind San Jose, where voters in 1987 approved the construction of a $100-million arena and where expansion lobbyists are well organized. San Diego, also mentioned occasionally, does not have an NHL-sized rink. Three teams are expected to be added for the 1992-93 season and seven by 2000; the sites for the first trio should be determined at league board meetings in June or next December.

The chance of an arena flourishing in Orange County would diminish if neither the NBA nor NHL move in. Staging events on 225 of 365 nights a year would enable the arena to do “real well,” Gobar said. “It depends on the events they add, and if they’re successful in getting an NBA franchise and possibly hockey, although they probably won’t get both,” he said. “They’d be fortunate if they got an NBA franchise because hockey doesn’t draw that well in the southern areas of the country.”

ANGELS

Usually reluctant to offer pitchers lengthy contracts, the Angels made an exception with Langston, giving him a five-year, $16-million deal in hopes that he can lead them to their first American League pennant. The 29-year-old left-hander has been durable and barring injury, he should be a mainstay of the staff through 1994. He rejected bids from the Dodgers and New York Yankees, among others, because he said the Angels are “definitely going to be the front-runner” in 1990 and a contender for years to come.

Langston’s teammates share that belief. “This could very well be the best pitching staff I’ve been associated with,” said catcher Lance Parrish, who played for the formidable 1984 Detroit Tigers. “Abbie (Jim Abbott) is going to be better with experience, you’ve got Kirk McCaskill, Bert Blyleven, Mike Witt--I feel very, very optimistic about our chances.”

Jackie Autry, wife of owner Gene Autry and an increasingly active member of the Angel hierarchy, is optimistic that she and her husband will maintain their ownership into the ‘90s despite salary escalation that threatens to render family or individual ownership of franchises nearly impossible. Jackie Autry, who is more than 35 years younger than her 82-year-old spouse, is the club’s executive vice president and a member of the board of directors. Her involvement into the franchise began when her husband assumed complete ownership and her involvement could expand as the ‘90s progress.

“I’ve taken a bigger role more and more in recent years because Gene is getting older and does not have the stamina he once had,” Jackie Autry said. “But he’s still very active and he and (General Manager) Mike Port talk quite often. Would I like to be more active? That’s hard to say. The baseball organization is one of many facets (of the Autrys’ financial interests). I’m involved in broadcasting, the museum, our hotel, various foundations, our homes and our social life.”

Autry, who has a banking background, said she doesn’t expect player salaries to continue their dizzying rise. “If they are, tickets are going to be going for $25 and $30,” she said, adding that she is determined to keep ticket prices within bounds in order to perpetuate baseball’s appeal.

“Baseball has always been a family form of entertainment,” Autry said. “The reason why so many families go is that it’s one of the few sports that’s still affordable for a family to go together. Sometimes fans get confused as to who is actually paying the ballplayer. It’s not the owner: it’s the fan that’s paying. We in ownership felt we are in a fiduciary capacity as far as tickets, and we try to keep prices in a family budget and maintain them at a certain level.”

The chances of the Angels getting to the World Series in the ‘90s are greater than the chances that Port will be candid with the media in this or any decade. Port declined to be interviewed but provided typewritten responses to a list of questions about the team’s future.

Asked if the Angels would finally win a pennant in the 1990s, Port said, “Our goal would hopefully be to add an ‘s’ to the end of (that) question, plus a few World Series. We feel we match up very, very well with Oakland. . . . We’re very proud of what our developmental system has been able to produce the past few years.”

That system will have to continue producing, because the Angels end the ‘80s with a light-hitting lineup and many older players. The top prospect might be 22-year-old Bobby Rose, who hit .359 with 73 RBIs for double-A Midland last season and probably will be moved from third base to second. Port also cited pitchers Mike Erb (11-4 with Class-A Quad City last season) and Mike Fetters (144 strikeouts with triple-A Edmonton) as promising.

ANAHEIM STADIUM

The Angels and Rams should find that the green, green grass of home will still be the real stuff and not synthetic turf. Already expanded once in 1979, the Big A should look much as it does now in the ‘90s except for a few alterations most fans won’t notice.

No more luxury boxes--”We’re luxury-boxed out,” said Kevin Uhlich, the Angels’ director of operations and a liaison between the team and its landlord, the City of Anaheim. “The changes would be minor remodeling: new concession stands and different food services. The only thing some of us here dream about . . . is a nice restaurant that looks into the stadium, like some other teams have. We do have a couple of areas that could be right for that.”

It’s doubtful that the NFL will consider Anaheim Stadium the right place to schedule the Super Bowl. Past bids by the city were rejected partly because of the stadium’s relatively small seating capacity of 69,007; although Uhlich wouldn’t be surprised to see bids made again in the future, he doesn’t expect the outcome to change.

“It’s tough when you have the Rose Bowl just up the freeway where it’s traditionally been held and where you have an extra 20,000-25,000 seats over what you have in Anaheim Stadium,” Uhlich said.

RAMS

Mix a quarterback reaching his prime with a couple of skilled receivers, a solid backfield and a dynamic coach who brought the team through a transitional period with remarkable speed, and the result is the Rams, who are poised for success as the ‘90s begin.

Once built around a running game, the Rams retooled following the trade that sent Eric Dickerson to Indianapolis and now rank among the NFL’s most proficient passing teams. Jim Everett, who will be 27 next month, last season became only the second Ram quarterback to pass for more than 3,000 yards in a season and also has shown a fearlessness under pressure. The Dickerson deal brought the Rams three first-round picks and three second-round picks in 1988 and 1989, a talent bank they can draw on well into the next decade.

“We have a number of positive things in place going into the ‘90s,” said Coach John Robinson, who has had only one losing season in seven since joining the Rams from USC. “We have a quarterback in Jim Everett who’s going to be one of the premier players in the league and he has eight to 10 years of playing left. That gives you stability. And because of the drafts, we have 26 players 25 years of age or under. That group will play an average of six or seven years together, so there’s going to be continuity.

“I don’t know if you can look past five years at any one position, except maybe quarterback, but I think that into the first one-third of the ‘90s, we’ll have excellent opportunities (to win the Super Bowl).”

For the Rams to be successful, their defensive players must prove themselves capable. Robinson also pointed to offensive linemen and cornerbacks as two musts on the team’s shopping list. But if everything comes together as he expects, Robinson could be shopping for Super Bowl rings.

“We’re definite contenders over the next period of time,” Robinson said.

Everett agrees. “We’ve got a lot of good, young talent here that will be around through the ‘90s,” he said. “It takes a combination of things and everyone has to stay in a great frame of mind. The front office has been trying to help as much as possible and we’ve got a good system offensively and defensively. We also need a lot of luck and to keep the number of injuries down. If you can go through a season injury-free, then you’ll probably be successful.”

Measuring his own success is a pursuit that he will leave to others, however.

“All I can do is strive to be the best and I’ll let other people judge me,” Everett said. “The true judge of how good the team is will be how many Super Bowl rings the Rams will get. That’s why guys like Terry Bradshaw and Joe Montana are in a class by themselves.”

COLLEGES

The Cal State Fullerton Titans, the only Division I football team in Orange County at the end of the ‘80s, will have a new home in the ‘90s. Ground breaking for a stadium that will have 10,000 permanent seats and 3,000 temporary seats is scheduled for early 1990 with a projected opening in time for the 1992 season.

But the Titans may not be the only college football team in town in the ‘90s.

The notion of instituting a Division III football program at UC Irvine was recently defeated in a students’ general-interest survey, but Sports Information Director Bob Olson foresees a reversal as the school’s enrollment grows. UCI had 16,400 students in 1989 and will top out at 26,500 in 2005.

“It’s very possible it (football) will be here before the end of the ‘90s,” said Olson, whose school has a track but no football stadium. “With the population boom in this area and more difficulty traveling to L.A. to see UCLA and USC, people will want to stay closer to home to see college football and they’ll rally around UCI.”

HORSE RACING

Los Alamitos opened under the ownership of Lloyd Arnold and Chris Bardis Nov. 24, with a refurbished dining room that seats 500 and plans to build an enclosed clubhouse and grandstand. The average nightly handle last year was $640,000 and Arnold expects it to soon hit $800,000-850,000 nightly, which would rank it in the top 10 in the country.

“It’ll be in the top three two years from now,” said Arnold, who lives in Cypress. “With our promotions and the upgrading of facilities, we’re making it comfortable for fans . . . Being in Orange County rather than L.A. isn’t a problem. I think it’s an asset. The area is new and clean, and there’s less crime in Orange County than in L.A. It’s a lot safer and we’ve got people here. I think Orange County will overcome L.A. on (being considered) big time. I think in L.A. the on-track handle is going to go down and here, it’s going to go up.”

The track plans to reinstitute a once-popular harness racing series, the Shelly Goudreau Memorial Series, named for a driver who was killed in a Hollywood Park accident. It also will schedule two other major events, the American Trotting Classic and the American Pacing Classic in the fall of 1990 or early 1991.

GOLF

Orange County is surrounded by PGA tournaments. There’s the Bob Hope Desert Classic in Palm Springs and the San Diego and Los Angeles tournaments, but no stops in Orange County. And that isn’t apt to change in the near future, even though Jack Nicklaus is involved in the building of the Dove Canyon course in the hills east of Mission Viejo.

“I’ve never been told that anything’s on the horizon,” said Don Sandefur the director of pro services for SoCal PGA. “Clubs just don’t want to give up their course for a week. It’s possible the Ben Hogan (satellite) tour will come; we hope to have a Hogan tournament of champions.”

The women’s tour, however, buoyed by the success of this year’s event at Los Coyotes in Buena Park, will be back next year. Back more than once a year, perhaps. “We were very pleased with the results at Los Coyotes and we look forward to building that into a premier event,” said LPGA Commissioner William Blue, who lives in Beverly Hills. “If one were to evaluate all first-year events, it would be among the top.

“Is Orange County big enough to hold more than one (tournament)? The answer is yes. Some things are being discussed, but nothing will happen before ’91.”

Blue held talks with the City of Costa Mesa and members of the Mesa Verde Club and said there was “a great deal of interest” in the LPGA returning there in the future.

TENNIS

As with golf, Orange County is surrounded by major professional tennis tournaments in other areas but neither the men or women play in the county. That could change, though probably not soon.

“The L.A.-Orange County area is a good market and we’re very interested,” said Paul Settles, tour manager of the Assn. of Tennis Professionals, which oversees the men’s tour. “L.A. is the sort of market that potentially could have two or three other tournaments there.” The men currently make two stops in Southern California, at UCLA and at Indian Wells.

“Orange County is an ideal setting for professional tennis. There’s a number of excellent facilities and it always has been a booming tennis market,” said Settles, a native Southern Californian. “We’re just looking for the right promoter and tournament director. We’re all anxious here at the ATP to put on another major event in the L.A.-Orange County area.”

The women also play at Indian Wells in addition to having tournaments in Manhattan Beach, San Diego and Oakland. The proximity of those tournaments makes the establishment of a tournament in Orange County unlikely, according to a spokeswoman for the Women’s International Pro Tennis Council.

SOCCER

The now-defunct North American Soccer League brought the indoor game to the Anaheim Convention Center briefly in the early ‘80s and the Major Indoor Soccer League may bring it back. The MISL has had its problems in Southern California and elsewhere--the Los Angeles Lazers, who played at the Forum, folded after last season--but league officials believe the vast numbers of soccer players in Orange County provide a natural fan base.

“The epicenter of the soccer community in Southern California is Orange County. Interest there is as strong as any area in the country,” MISL Commissioner Earl Foreman said. “From a youth and amateur perspective, it’s comparable to the interest in northern California, northern Virginia and Long Island. I think a team there would be dynamite. The only thing that’s keeping us (from having an Orange County franchise) right now is (the lack of) an arena of satisfactory size. There’s a distinct possibility of an arena being built there in several years, as I understand it, and if the arena’s there, we’re going to be there.”

YACHTING

Officials at local yacht clubs don’t expect an America’s Cup contender to come out of Orange County, but they foresee a good deal of local activity. The Newport Harbor Yacht Club will host the U.S. Yacht Club Challenge in April, with invitations issued to 1,200 clubs around the country. Championships in the biannual event will be determined in the 35-foot class for adults and three-man junior teams. The Newport Harbor Yacht Club and the Balboa Yacht Club in Corona del Mar also will host trials in several classes for the 1992 Olympics.

Peter Huston, race administrator for the Balboa Yacht Club, said that although he doesn’t foresee a local syndicate bankrolling an America’s Cup entry, “there’s the distinct possibility one of the syndicates might train at this club or at Newport Harbor.”

The Balboa club hosted the Courageous group in 1983. “We’d definitely consider doing the same thing again for the American camp, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they practice in Newport Beach,” Huston said.

ORANGE COUNTY 1990

The county will have it all--established stars, budding stars, progressive owner, top-flight facilities, money and fans hungry for excitement and a winner.

The Rise of Salaries

Rapidly escalating because of newly signed television contracts and rights fees. Baseball:

Major League Minimum ’89 SEASON: $68,000 ’96 PREDICTION: $125,000

Average ’89 SEASON: $497,254 ’96 PREDICTION: $1M+

Highest-Paid Player ’89 SEASON: $2.76M ’96 PREDICTION: $4-to-4.5M

Football:

NFL Minimum ’89 SEASON: $60,000 ’96 PREDICTION: $130,000

Average without Free Agency ’89 SEASON: $300,000 ’96 PREDICTION: $573,000

Average with Free Agency ’89 SEASON: --- ’96 PREDICTION: $700,000

High Package w/o Free Agency ’89 SEASON: $2.1M ’96 PREDICTION: $4-to-5M

High Package with Free Agency ’89 SEASON: --- ’96 PREDICTION: $4-to-5M Source: Players associations for both leagues. Predictions by averaging figures provided by a sampling of agents and executives.

Facilities

The next decade will not only see continued poplulation growth in the county, but also a continuing increase in sports facilities. Anaheim Stadium: Built in 1966 and added onto in 1979, it’s home of the Angels and Rams and seats 64,593 for baseball and 69,007 for football. Cal State Fullerton Stadium: The football facility, with 10,000 permanent and 3,000 temporary seats, is scheduled to be completed for the 1992 season. Anaheim Arena: Proposed $85-million, 20,000-seat facility to be built by the city of Anaheim at Katella Avenue and Douglass Road. Santa Ana Arena: Proposed $75-million, 20,000-seat facility to be built by Spectacor Management and MCA Entertainment at Edinger Avenue and Lyon Street. UC Irvine’s Bren Center: Opened in January, 1987, on the main campus, it was built at a cost of $15 million and seats 5,000 for basketball. Los Alamitos Race Course: A new clubhouse, to include a 1,200-seat dining room, is on the drawing board for the Cypress harness/quarterhorse track.

What to Look For

It’ll be a decade of opportunity for the spectators. Yachting:

The U.S. Yacht Club Challenge will be hosted by the Newport Harbor Y.C. in 1990, while two local clubs will host the 1992 Olympic Trials. Soccer:

Major Indoor Soccer League President Earl Foreman feels one of his teams would be a “dynamite” occupant for either Anaheim or Santa Ana arena. Tennis:

Paul Settles, of the Assn. of Tennis Professionals, can foresee one of his events coming to the new Orange County indoor arena. Pro Basketball:

Fans no longer will have to travel to L.A. to see their favorite teams. An NBA team will be wooed by the new 20,000-seat arena and a population base of 2.6 million.

People to Watch Lloyd Arnold: The new co-owner of Los Alamitos Race Course has a single goal: to make the harness/quarterhorse track the best in the West through refurbishing, a new clubhouse, higher purses and better horses. Jackie Autry: Possessing the business acumen and interest, the wife of the California Angels owner has emerged as a spokesperson and force in the couple’s dream of bringing a World Series to Orange County. Michael Chang: Winner of the French Open, a Davis Cup member, the fifth-ranked singles player in the world. All by age 17. What’s in store in the ‘90s for the tennis wunderkind, you ask? Stardom, say the experts. Jim Everett: He’s on track to become the National Football League’s top quarterback once Joe Montana retires. En route, Orange County fans are expecting him to lead the Rams to the promised land--the Super Bowl. Mark Langston: When the Angels shelled out $16 million for the 29-year-old left-handed pitcher to sign a five-year contract, it was done for one purpose: to have the Halos gain the ever-elusive prize--the World Series.

ATTENDANCE

The top home attendance seasons for the Angels and the Rams:

ANGELS

Attendance Year 2,807,360 1982 2,696,299 1987 2,655,892 1986 2,647,291 1989 2,567,427 1985 2,555,016 1983 2,523,575 1979 2,402,997 1984 2,340,925 1988 2,297,327 1980

RAMS

Attendance Year 500,403 1980 484,024 1981 474,282 1986 448,068 1985 435,749 1988 435,637 1984 422,239 1983 331,690* 1987 258,451** 1982

*Players strike marked by games played with replacement teams.

**Players strike shortened home schedule to five games.