Parking Found for NHL : Hockey: Breakthrough on this key issue helped the Anaheim Arena and Disney reach a tentative agreement on a lease that would allow the team to play this fall.

The Walt Disney Co.’s NHL expansion team will begin play in the Anaheim Arena this October, pending approval of a tentative deal reached Wednesday night, City Manager James D. Ruth said.

All the major issues involving an arena lease appear to have been settled by Disney, the city and arena managers Ogden Entertainment, Ruth said. He stressed, however, that the deal still requires approval by Ogden officials in New York, who are expected to consider it today and by the city council, which is expected to vote on Friday.

Ruth said a breakthrough in negotiations Wednesday may have solved a crucial parking issue, which threatened to block the deal and prevent the team from playing next season.

“We think we’ve resolved the parking issue,” said Ruth. “The rest of the (agreement) should come together. Most of it is just house-keeping stuff.”

Throughout the negotiations, Disney officials were concerned that the city had acquired only enough parking for the short term, but not necessarily for the long term.

Disney also wanted some of the parking closer to the arena and landscaping in some of the lots to create a nicer “hockey experience” for the fans, city officials said.

Ruth said the city lined up other options for more parking in the future but did not want to pay the cost of acquiring new lots. The city wants any new parking costs to be paid from future arena revenues, he said.

It was not immediately disclosed how the parking issue was going to be resolved.

“Right now, there is general, conceptual approval for the deal,” Ruth said after the negotiations broke up. “We’re very optimistic, but there’s always a chance that something could fall through.”

If all goes well, Ruth said, the city council will review and complete the agreement at a special council session Friday at 4 p.m.

The apparent resolution on parking was good news to those following the negotiations.

“It’s looking very promising now,” said Anaheim Mayor Tom Daly. “Throughout the past few weeks I’ve asked Jim Ruth and his staff to make sure they protect the city’s interests and strike the best possible business deal, and after talking with Jim this evening it appears they have done so quiet well.”

Said Brad Mayne, arena general manager: “It’s good to hear that. I think everyone felt that this was going to happen and we all knew it would come down to the last hour.

“The things I’ve seen are palatable to both sides,” Mayne said. “It’s going to be a nice partnership. Everyone is real excited about it. It’s going to give Orange County the professional arena sport it has deserved for a long time.”

NHL officials have given Disney and Blockbuster chief Wayne Huizenga, awarded an expansion club in Miami, until Monday to decide whether they would ice teams next season.

Huizenga has indicated he is ready, but said last weekend that he and Disney Chairman Michael Eisner had a gentlemen’s agreement to begin play the same season.

Disney acquired the rights for the expansion team last December. At the time, Eisner said the pairing of a professional sports franchise and the global entertainment giant created a certain “synergy” helping to promote hockey as major international sport and Anaheim as an even bigger tourist destination.

Having a team ready by the 1993-94 season also saves Anaheim $1 million it would have had to give to Ogden under their partnership agreement in the arena project.

Under that agreement, Anaheim must pay Ogden $2.5 million annually for eight years if neither a professional basketball nor hockey team are playing in the facility. The city is liable for $1.5 million if one professional franchise, like the NHL hockey team, moves in.