A Traveling Call: L.A. or Burbank for Clippers? : Pro basketball: Westwood developer is spearheading an effort to entice the NBA team to play in the Valley on a site formerly occupied by Lockheed.

Walter O’Malley didn’t do it. Neither did Gene Autry.

Donald T. Sterling might.

While O’Malley and Autry turned down proposals to place their baseball teams in the Valley, Sterling is seriously considering moving his Clippers of the NBA to Burbank.

“That’s a very real possibility,” said Andrew Roeser, the team’s executive vice president of business operations.

Sterling wants a modern arena for the Clippers and reportedly has narrowed his choice to Burbank or the team’s current home at the Sports Arena, which would undergo extensive renovation. If Sterling picks Burbank, the Valley would get not only its first big-league team but its first big-time arena.

This is heartening news for Valley residents who have endured long, agonizing rides to South-Central L.A. or Inglewood to see sports events, rock concerts and circus shows.

But “don’t line up for tickets just yet,” said Lew Wolff, 57, a Westwood developer.

Wolff and his partner, actor Wayne Rogers, are spearheading the effort to woo the Clippers to the Valley. They have a strong commitment from the city of Burbank and a fragile partnership with Warner Bros. to build a $100 million arena on 89 acres of land formerly occupied by Lockheed Corp. . . . if Sterling decides to move the Clippers to Burbank.

Meanwhile, the City of Los Angeles is making a strong bid to keep the Clippers where they are.

The city is offering to transform the 33-year-old Sports Arena into a future-is-now facility with easy parking.

The Coliseum Commission, which operates the building, showed the seriousness of its intentions by recently authorizing $500,000 to draw up plans for a total renovation that could cost almost as much as a new arena.

A wild-card element in Sterling’s decision is the political and sociological impact of the Clippers leaving the area at this time. Would they be regarded as fleeing the inner city in the wake of the riots? Would it be insensitive to the people of South-Central?

“(Sterling is) under a lot of social pressure to stay in L.A.,” said Bud Ovrom, Burbank city manager. But the Clippers’ Roeser said post-riot pressure “will not be a determining factor.”

There is more at stake in Sterling’s decision than just community pride.

With 200 to 250 events a year at the proposed arena, Burbank officials see business booming for nearby hotels and restaurants.

“We’re absolutely convinced it will be a slam dunk if it’s built,” Ovrom said.

Ovrom is certain that Burbank is the best choice for the Clippers. “We think the most feasible L.A. site is in the San Fernando Valley,” he said. “We think the (Sports Arena) is a bad location.”

Moreover, said Ovrom, “Disney moved a $600-million dollar master plan through this city--(environmental impact report), planning board, City Council--in less than 10 months,” he said. “That would take three years in L.A.”

And Ovrom thinks the Clippers would not find it pleasant dealing with the Coliseum Commission, which has been criticized recently for bungling the proposed renovation at the Coliseum, a facility adjacent to the Sports Arena.

“Look at the mess the commission made out of that,” Ovrom said. “We’re confident they’d make a similar mess out of the Sports Arena (renovation).”

If the Clippers are favoring either side, they’re not saying. Roeser agrees that Burbank’s lack of red tape “is certainly a factor, but if a city is motivated it should be able to arrange anything (expediently),” he said.

Roeser also stuck up for the Coliseum Commission. “The Clippers and Coliseum Commission have learned from other people’s mistakes that you have to be careful that you design a building that you can finance and market successfully,” Roeser said.

Roeser was alluding to problems with the proposed Coliseum renovation. The design was so costly that luxury boxes were priced out of the market, cutting off an anticipated source of revenue.

If Sterling gives Burbank the green light and everything comes together “under the best conditions,” an arena could be completed in about three years, Wolff said. Of the many snags that could arise, the developers have to be leery of incurring the wrath of homeowners.

Valley homeowners, who have successfully kept large entertainment venues out of their back yard in the past, even prevented 1984 Olympic rowing events from being held at the Sepulveda Basin.

But the proposed Burbank location--part of a 320-acre site at Victory Place and Empire Avenue--is contaminated by chemical pollutants and blemished by dilapidated buildings. And it is in an industrial part of town, not a residential area. An arena would be a big improvement.

“That’s one of the reasons we picked that site,” Wolff said.

Another reason is freeway access: The proposed arena is within view of the Golden State Freeway and not far from the Hollywood and Ventura freeways. If the arena is built, Burbank officials say, a new I-5 interchange would be built at Empire Avenue.

“All basketball should be played in a state-of-the-art arena,” said Wolff, a part owner of the Golden State Warriors who “loves all sports, basketball especially.”

Sterling has said he wants to make a decision by the end of this month, but nobody expects him to. “We’ve made a lot of progress but still have work to do before we decide,” Roeser said.

Clipper officials, along with Wolff and Burbank representatives, have visited or studied several new arenas, including the American West Arena in Phoenix and the modernized Boston Garden.

The Clippers have identified what they consider to be “important design elements” to incorporate into their facility, which will be “a very dramatic and dynamic place,” Roeser said.

But will they be able to fill it? Last season, the Clippers’ average turnout was only 12,200 at the 15,800-seat Sports Arena, 17th among the 27 NBA teams; though off to a good start this season, the team is averaging only 12,705, 20th in the league.

Isn’t this an indication that basketball fans haven’t accepted the Sports Arena? “I don’t think so,” Roeser said, adding: “There are a lot of factors that we could point to regarding our attendance.”

He mentioned the age of the Sports Arena and the problems with parking but said those concerns would be eliminated by renovation. Before Sterling makes his choice, the Clippers are going to canvass their fans. “We want to see where they’d like to see the building located,” Roeser said. “We want our fans to be happy.”

According to Roeser, “25 to 35 percent of our fans come from the Valley.” The rest are from South Bay, the Westside, Beverly Hills and downtown--and those fans “like our central location . . . we have large and pretty loyal support where we are.”

But the Clippers will be studying “just how great (our) level of support would be in the Valley,” Roeser said. “I’m sure we’d be very, very welcome there.”

One place the Clippers will not be moving to is Orange County. Sterling has rejected an offer to take up residence in a new Anaheim arena, to be completed this summer.

“Mr. Sterling is very, very committed to the city of L.A.,” said Roeser, who then nimbly straddled the fence: “But we consider the Valley to be part of that market.”