Hockey Goal Came Too Late to Save 2 Anaheim Officials

When former Anaheim Mayor Fred Hunter learned that the Walt Disney Co. had won conditional approval this week to bring a National Hockey League franchise to Orange County, he proclaimed: “My field of dreams has finally come true.”

But the entertainment giant’s foray into professional hockey didn’t come soon enough to prevent Hunter’s worst political nightmare.

Hunter and former Councilman William D. Ehrle on Friday directly attributed political defeats last month to their promotion of a $103-million arena that at the time showed little promise of attracting professional sports, but now is likely to become home to the Disney team.

“It cost us the election,” said Hunter, who had been a council member since 1986. “I truly believe that.”

Said Ehrle: “Had the hockey team materialized 45 days sooner we would have been reelected. . . . It’s a bittersweet feeling.”

Now, both men, who for weeks have been licking their political wounds, are standing proud, taking credit for being the driving forces behind the arena project. The arena was perhaps the boldest risk ever taken by this city of development-minded political leaders, who already have two professional sports teams, the largest convention center on the West Coast, Disneyland and a $3-billion expansion of the world-famous theme park in the works.

“It’s a satisfying feeling,” Hunter said. “It proves that Bill and I were right--that we had the guts to stick by our convictions.” Ehrle, a councilman since 1987, called it their “vision for the city.”

Their rigid support of the arena, however, had become fodder for their opponents’ political mailings during the November election. In bold print, the mailers called the arena “Hunter’s Boondoggle” and characterized the building as a “white elephant.”

The main issue was cost. Under the terms of the city’s agreement with its partners--Ogden Corp. and the Nederlander Group--the city is liable for as much as $20 million over the next eight years if neither a professional basketball nor professional hockey team is found as a tenant.

During the campaign, then-Councilman Tom Daly, who defeated Hunter for mayor, attacked his opponent’s television commercial about the project and its assertions that taxpayers bore almost no costs for the structure.

In the ad, Hunter was pictured in 1990 standing in what then was the old Phoenix Club parking lot, promising that by 1992 an arena would be built on the site. The segment then fast-forwarded to a shot of Hunter standing in front of the almost-completed arena.

“I’ve kept my promise,” Hunter said in the commercial. “The arena is almost complete at almost no cost to the taxpayers of this city.”

Daly, who also supported the arena project, pointed out the city paid $11 million to purchase the site and might have to pay much more if no team could be found.

And by Nov. 3, it seemed unlikely that the arena due to open its doors next fall would have a team to call it home.

“It was all a matter of timing,” Ehrle said.

Hunter and Ehrle said they knew before Election Day that promising negotiations were going on with prospective tenants, but were duty-bound not to say anything--even though their opponents were going on the offensive.

“We had a fiduciary obligation to (the city’s) partners not to say anything,” said Hunter, who lost his position as mayor, but remains on the council.

Daly agreed this week that arena costs were an issue during the election, but he said Hunter and Ehrle were defeated “for many (other) reasons,” like their support for a utility tax on city businesses. Ehrle had later changed his position on the tax and voted against it.

“It would be incorrect to say that any particular issue played a determining factor in their defeats,” said Daly.

Former Mayor William Thom, who remains active in local politics, said the defeats suffered by Hunter and Ehrle were more due to a collection of actions, not just punishment for their support of the arena.

“I would have characterized the arena as a very minor problem,” Thom said. “But when you combine that with some of the other things like the utility tax and their ties to the local employee groups, you’ve got problems.” Both Hunter and Ehrle were criticized by their opponents for relying heavily on the financial support of municipal employee unions.

During their campaigns, Hunter and Ehrle so worried about the political risk of continuing their arena support, that arena General Manager Brad Mayne of Ogden said the two leaders made “constant” requests for a public, pre-election announcement about the secret negotiations to lure a team to Anaheim.

“They felt that it made some sense to make an announcement,” Mayne said Friday. “We just didn’t tell them. We couldn’t afford to negotiate this thing in public.”

After Disney’s surprise announcement Thursday, Ehrle and Hunter were on the telephone to congratulate, and commiserate with, each other.

“We talked and he said, ‘Bill, you and I were right,’ ” Ehrle said of the conversation.

Hunter called the hockey announcement a vindication.

“Everybody supports it now, but there would have been no arena if it weren’t for us,” he said.

Disney’s deal with the city and its partners is not yet final and could yet fall through, authorities say. Disney must pay $25 million in franchise fees to the NHL, another $25 million to neighboring Los Angeles Kings owner Bruce McNall, who owns NHL territorial rights for Southern California, and prove that it can sell a sufficient number of season tickets, probably about 10,000.

NAME THAT TEAM: Readers give it a shot. A38

ELATED STORIES: C1

The Ducks? Yuck!

“The Mighty Ducks” might have been a big hit on the movie screen. But as a name for Orange County’s hockey team, Disney could have a full-fledged flop on its hands. Of the 195 people who called or faxed The Times on Friday, 166 gave Disney Chairman Michael Eisner’s suggested name a thumbs down.

No Ducks

“I can’t stand it. I hope to God they don’t call it that, because I am a die-hard hockey fan. If they name it the Ducks, I don’t think I’ll go.”

--Brian Discher, Anaheim

“That’s a terrible name for very manly men to get on the ice with. It’s embarrassing.”

--Emily Barnes, Anaheim

“People are going to start calling them lame ducks. If that name sticks, you’re going to have major problems.”

--John Sauli, Newport Beach

“Ducks sucks!”

--Scott Sullivan, Newport Beach

“I hate it. It’s a Mickey Mouse name. They won’t be able to market unless they get an aggressive name like the Cobras or the Avengers.”

--Jim Kirkpatrick, Orange

“My friend and I were thinking about season tickets, but we can’t see ourselves wearing the Duck jersey and rooting for the Ducks against the Kings.”

--Brian Hunsaker, Bellflower

“I think it’s just way too powder-puff. We gotta have a little beef down here, man!”

--John Delatore, Irvine

“We got too many teams in the south part of the state that have pansy names. We need something with a little gumption.”

--Jim Griffin, Laguna Niguel

“I told them that I would buy season tickets if they got a team, but I won’t buy the tickets if they name them the Ducks.”

--Frank Morley, Rancho Cucamonga

“Giving the team a name like Ducks would give opposing fans a lot of fuel to chastise and jeer our hockey team.”

--Mark Kopit, Orange

“My vote is NO for the Ducks as a name for a hockey team, or any team except maybe a Pee-Wee team.”

--Spencer Lien, Costa Mesa

“I feel a name like the Ducks would be like having a baseball team named the Bad News Bears.”

--Rodney Bodine, Chino

The Ducks? Whose goofy idea was this anyway? I have been waiting for Minnie years for a hockey team in Orange County and they want to call them the Ducks? Whoever thought of that Dopey name is a quack. Someone must have slipped him a Mickey, that’s all I can figure. A player would have to have flubber between his ears to want to be a Duck. And Orange uniforms? How about Snow White uniforms with big round ears painted on the side of their helmets? Sorry to sound Grumpy, but I don’t like it. Thanks for the team, Disney, but forget the Ducks. And don’t even consider the Gnatcatchers.

--Ken McCausland, San Juan Capistrano

“Ducks, as in Donald, is self-serving to Disney’s interests only. It reminds me of Saturday morning cartoons being created after toys instead of before.”

--John Premac, Orange

“No player will wear a jersey with ‘the Ducks’ written on it. There is no strength, no grit.”

--Michele Laughlin, Rancho Santa Marguerita

Pro Ducks

“Mighty Ducks. It’s perfect!”

--Fred Keppler, Irvine

“Go Ducks! Go Ducks! Go Ducks! Go Ducks!”

--Jeff Leeper, Newport Beach

“I think that having the Mighty Ducks would be the best thing to pull away from the aggressive approach. If you put a good team on the ice and they were wearing pink they’d do well. The guys would still be tough.”

--Bob Cicciarella, Mission Viejo

“Mighty Ducks is perfect. . . . A lot of times people take the name thing too seriously. Let’s play this tongue in cheek.”

--Joe Blume, Tustin

“The movie has very positive connotations. I like the name.

--Jim Brittell, Santa Ana

“A great idea. . . . I think it will make a lot of kids happy.”

--Kelley Autry, Mission Viejo

Top Names

“Thunder” struck seven respondents as the best name for the team, making it the most popular alternative submitted. “Blades” was next, with six votes, followed by the “Matterhorns” with five and “Earthquakes” and “Tremors” with four votes each. “Crush,” “Ice,” “Fantasmics,” “Pirates,” “Aces” and “Stars” each got three votes.

While many respondents picked names related to hockey and ice, names with local themes were especially popular; Disney themes were prevalent.

A selection of alternative names:

Toons

Space Mountaineers

Rocketeers

Monorails

Dalmatians

California Checkers

Anaheim Blizzard

Anaheim Beasts

Anaheim Aces

Anaheim Attractions

Anaheim Goofys

Anaheim Punishers

Anaheim Nemesis

Orange County Roughriders

Anaheim Traffic Jam

California Coolers

California Glaciers

Disney Foxes

California Magicians

Rhymes and Reasons

Anaheim Mallers: “It reflects the materialistic aspects of the area. And the logo could have the two Ls in Mallers made into hockey sticks.”

--Richard Weie, Irvine

The Anaheim Drought: “In keeping with the region.”

--Rick Johnson, San Juan Capistrano

Anaheim Arrows: “It makes you think of things that are sharp and fast and deadly.”

--Lisa Freeman, Costa Mesa

California Shakers: “Because of the earthquakes.”

--Alan Futterman, Laguna Hills

Anaheim Winds: “They would be flashy and explosive like the Santa Ana winds.”

--Ronald G. Acosta, Santa Ana

California Quakes: “ ‘We’re here to rock the NHL’ could be their motto.”

--John Bloyd, Orange

Anaheim Tremblors: “We do shake and bake a lot down here.”

--Steve Cason, Buena Park

Anaheim Orangemen: “It incorporates the city’s name and the county’s.”

--Harvey Guzik, Laguna Hills

California Cool: “Hockey is a cool-weather sport.”

--James E. West, Anaheim