ORANGE COUNTY PERSPECTIVE : When You Wish Upon a Stadium

Anaheim Mayor Fred Hunter was effusive the other day after his city settled lawsuits that have blocked construction of a proposed indoor sports arena. Basking in the glow, he declared, “We are to become . . . the sports capital of America.”

Well, not so fast. Anaheim has enjoyed remarkable decades of benefits beginning with Walt Disney’s decision to build an amusement park amid the orange groves. It’s true that setting aside menacing lawsuits with the Los Angeles Rams, a nearby mobile home park and Anaheim Stadium Associates clears obstacles along the road. But it is perhaps a sign of the times that even the Disney rabbit’s foot has been dangling in front of others in recent years, in distant Florida and, now, in Anaheim’s competition with Long Beach for a new Disney theme park.

The competitiveness of the times is evidenced by Santa Ana’s shrewd angling to get the indoor arena first, and almost everybody agrees that the Orange County area cannot support two such stadiums. But in the race to the finish line, it’s important to recognize that these are different times from the days when Orange County was one big Frontierland.

Anaheim needs prudence to match its enthusiasm. It ought to be careful that it does not commit so much public money and city prestige to the idea of having an indoor arena that it gives away all leverage. Already the city has raised $18 million through the sale of bonds to buy various parcels of land. To do that, it raised the motel tax, but there is still no arena in sight, nor any teams to play in it.

The city has agreed now to pay three plaintiffs $300,000 in attorneys’ fees and possibly another $400,000 in damages to one. The cost of the stadium, which when first discussed was about $40 million, went up to $94 million, with a plan for public subsidy of up to $1.5 million a year. Now, because of the cost, the city is going to spend nearly half a million dollars for an architect to design a less- expensive arena than first proposed.

Anaheim believes that it can recoup much from the developer. But it still doesn’t have one to recoup from. The more it commits before it does, the more that developer can insist on favorable terms.

Anaheim essentially is positioning itself to be in the real estate business, with all its risks. It may one day proudly boast, as its mayor suggests, that it is the sports capital of America. However, its dream shouldn’t get too far out ahead of the city’s best financial interests. Hold the superlatives for now.