Buss Won’t Build Arena Until He Gets Expansion Team : Hockey: Lakers’ owner says he wants NHL expansion franchise first. San Diego, Riverside or Orange county would then be favored sites for arena.

Dr. Jerry Buss, owner of the Los Angeles Lakers and Great Western Forum, said Wednesday he is waiting for word on NHL expansion and will not make plans to build an arena until he secures a franchise.

He said he is convinced obtaining a franchise is the first step, and, because the NHL is not expected to decide on expansion until at least December, he will lobby the league and wait.

Buss detailed a plan Wednesday that entails obtaining a franchise, finding a community to support it and getting corporate backing. He said he will investigate Orange, Riverside and San Diego counties as possible franchise locations. He said he expects a city to grant him land or, at least, offer an extraordinary deal on leased land. Failing that, he said he will listen to offers from the proposed builders of arenas in Costa Mesa and Anaheim.

“I see this project probably different than other people see it,” Buss said. “To them, it’s go out and get land, get an architect, talk to the city, etc. In my estimation, that’s putting the cart before the horse.

“I think you have to have a franchise. If you get a franchise, it is no secret many communities desperately want sports teams. They realize the economic advantages to the community that a sports franchise brings. Therefore, they will cooperate with the franchise owner 100%.

“What I’m saying is no secret. Look at the bidding for the Raiders.

“The second step is to realize which community realizes the value of having a sports team to the point where it will work with you in a joint effort to make the arena happen. . . . that translates into free land, or at least an extremely favorable rate.

“The third step is to get some large company behind you for advertising, such as the Great Western Forum. After that, everything is simple.”

Buss has written letters to key NHL executives in hopes of drawing interest in his quest for an expansion franchise. The NHL is not yet accepting formal applications for expansion franchises.

“What I’ve told them is that I’m interested in anything in Southern California,” he said. “What I’ve thought is Orange County, Riverside and San Diego County. If I’m granted a franchise, those are the areas I’ll investigate.”

Gerry Helper, a spokesman for the NHL, said the league is planning to review conditions and terms for its expansion applications at the Board of Governors’ meeting the first week of May. League Commissioner John Ziegler said at a Board of Governors’ meeting in February that expansion decisions of “who, what and how many” won’t be on the agenda until December at the earliest.

While Buss is planning to find a franchise and then decide where to put it, La Jolla millionaire and co-owner of the San Diego Sports Arena Harry Cooper has spent much of the past year attempting to obtain city permission to build a sports arena downtown at 12th and Imperial avenues. Buss said he has not decided if he will work with Cooper or anybody else.

“(Cooper) expressed his interest in all possible ways to make it happen,” Buss said. “He has done his homework. He knows traffic patterns, demographics. But when you decide to work with any existing group--Harry or others--it requires a lot of investigation, a lot of decisions, a lot of hours.

“I’m not willing to put them in unless I have a franchise.”

Buss was unconcerned about any possible competition between he and Cooper.

“I don’t see any competition,” Buss said. “I guess anybody with enough money can build an arena. What I’m after is a hockey team and some fans. There can be two arenas, four arenas or six arenas, I don’t care. There can be only one franchise.”

Contrary to published reports, Buss said he has not looked at land in San Diego’s North County for prospective arena sites. He made it clear he intends to hold up his part of the deal.

“The city, the fans and myself have to go all out,” he said. “If one of these fall apart, it’s not going to happen. It’s that simple. If I get a franchise, (building an arena) this is not a pipe dream. This will happen. If not, tough luck.

“If a hockey franchise is awarded to the Southern California area, it seems to me there will be just one in the foreseeable future. It’s either get it or it’s over.”

Buss said he wants to bring an NBA team to San Diego as well. He thinks it is feasible to build an arena that would have just one tenant, such as an NHL team, but that it wouldn’t be very profitable.

“There are many (professional) franchises playing in an arena in which there is just one tenant,” Buss said. “A lot of single tenant buildings survive but clearly, the way to go is to get two.”

Because Buss owns the Lakers, he cannot purchase another NBA team but he said he would want an existing franchise move into his arena.

As for the location, it all depends on finding a community in which the local government and a corporation are willing to help him financially.

“Just what I put up to buy a team and build an arena will be well over $100 million with everyone’s assistance,” he said. “Without it, it becomes impossible.”

County Supervisor Susan Golding said a land grant in San Diego would be difficult to obtain.

“That would be subject to negotiation,” she said. “He’s implying the government has some land to grant for a sports arena. We don’t have land just sitting around to be granted.

“We’re not even on ground zero yet. He’d need to come in and talk, and he hasn’t done that yet.”

Buss is an avid sports fan who, in addition to owning the Lakers, promotes his own boxing, tennis and volleyball matches in the Forum. He is building a home in Rancho Santa Fe and one of his offices is in Encinitas.

“I love this area,” he said. “It’s so healthy and beautiful. My house just broke ground. As much as this area offers me, I know if I had a sports team here it would be perfect. I tried to buy the Padres, and it didn’t work out.

“But I can’t build a sports arena because I want to live near there. That would be nice and wonderful, and my first desire. Having been on the NBA advisory committee, I know how sports leagues look at expansion. They want a good owner who is well funded with a degree of appreciation of the sport.

“That’s only half the game. The other is the community has to really be behind the franchise. That’s why Charlotte and Orlando (were awarded NBA expansion franchises).It’s not like before, when a city had to be a certain size.”