There’s No Sign of Socker Feats : Sports Arena: Soccer team miffed after Gulls paint over its banner.

Perfect, a little more than a week away from Election Day and the Sockers say they feel like some nerdy Democrats being victimized by a Republican dirty-tricks cover-up, one carried out by the Gulls.

Call it Arenagate.

The Sockers, a Sports Arena tenant since 1980, say they don’t deserve to be treated like Jerry Brown and swept under the carpet--and they blame the Gulls, who showed up in 1990, for doing exactly that.

At issue is the arena’s signage, which, since 1984, has displayed the words “San Diego Sockers World Champions . . . Feets of Magic.”

One day last month Sockers General Manager Tim Latta went to the bank, and when he came back an hour later, the sign read, “San Diego Gulls Group Ticket Sales . . . In-Line Skates, Souvenirs and Clothing Gift Shop.”

Political posturing had begun.

“Those arrogant little buggers,” fumed Sockers Coach Ron Newman. “They just decided they would steal the sign.”

When asked about the scandal, Bill Hunter, 10% owner and a vice president of the Gulls, said his administration was not responsible.

“Ron Newman,” Hunter wondered, “who’s that?”

The sign in question hangs over offices previously leased by the Sockers, most of which the Gulls now occupy. The Sockers still have a corner of the space, but no signage.

Hunter said the sign space is included in the Gulls’ lease with the Arena.

“If you rent a store downtown,” he rationalized, “you get the signage above that store, too. And that’s not being an arrogant little bugger.”

Latta said billboard rights have never been part of rental agreements in the past, and if they are now, the Sockers should at least have equal access.

“Signage has never been in a Sockers’ lease,” said Latta, who has been with the team since 1983. “No one ever told us that we were going to lose our signs. No one ever forewarned us or anything.”

Arena operator Richard Esquinas did not return phone calls.

The Sockers, who won 10 championships in 11 years at the Sports Arena, will begin their 12th season in June. For now, they complain their offices are nearly impossible to find.

“It’s like we went from long-standing tenant to a nonentity in a matter of an hour,” Latta said. At least one former player had similar feelings.

“This is unbelievable,” said Jean Willrich, one of three Sockers to have his jersey number retired. He dropped by the arena a week ago. “I was not sure if I should stop, or go. Everything is gone. It’s like the place is dead. We won 10 championships and now have nothing to show for it. You come to the Sports Arena and you know a soccer team used to be here, but now there’s nothing to show for it. It’s just sad.”

Hunter said he wanted to emphasize that the Gulls have good relations with the Sockers.

“First of all,” Hunter said. “There is no conflict between the Sockers and us, period. Our deal is with the San Diego Sports Arena and we cooperate with the Sockers in every way possible.”

The Sockers, however, wonder why no one ever told them the sign was going to be taken over.

“I thought we had a very good working relationship with the Gulls,” Newman said. “And we find them very amicable people. But that sort of thing, without notification, without coming to us and asking, was rather arrogant.”

When asked why, if the Gulls “cooperate in every way possible,” they couldn’t have discussed the issue with their co-tenant, Hunter paused briefly.

“We don’t deal with the Sockers at all,” he said in apparent contradiction to his previous statement. “That’s why I am totally shocked at this, totally shocked. . . . That space we’ve got is our space, and it’s our sign. There was no infringement on the Sockers, period. . . . If we have the rights to signage, we’re going to put it up, naturally. If they are looking for trouble with the Gulls, we would be extremely disappointed with them. The space we have is our space, leased from the San Diego Sports Arena, which we pay for, including signage.”

Latta said he complained to Sports Arena management as soon as the sign was repainted and management told him the Gulls resurfaced the sign without the arena’s knowledge. Management, Latta continued, said it will pay for a temporary sign to be placed outside the Sockers’ offices until the permanent space is divided between the teams.

“We do expect to have the sign painted back again,” Newman said. “I guess the system is who ever has the paint brush owns the boarding.”

Arena Notes

Sockers Coach Ron Newman noted all the hockey and basketball championship banners he sees in other arenas, then wondered why the Sockers’ 10 flags are pulled down during other events. “Where are they?” he asked, armed with his own answer. “The Gulls are probably using them to clean off their paint brushes.”

The Gulls (6-0) play host to the Phoenix Roadrunners at 7:05 tonight.