Lease Agreement Expected Today : Hockey: Contract should pave way for Anaheim team to begin play this fall.

Negotiators for the city of Anaheim and the Walt Disney and Ogden Entertainment companies worked late Thursday evening trying to iron out kinks in an arena lease contract but remained confident a deal would be completed today.

The Anaheim City Council is expected to ratify a lease agreement this afternoon, paving the way for Disney’s NHL expansion team to begin play in the Anaheim Arena this October.

“I really think everything will come out in the wash and there will be an announcement at the city council meeting (today),” a source involved with the negotiations said. “There’s nothing to be alarmed about right now.”

Anaheim Mayor Tom Daly said Thursday that Ogden and Disney have reached a lease agreement, but that the deal is contingent on amendments being made to an arena operation contract between Ogden and the city.

According to a source, the deal between Disney and Ogden calls for a 30-year lease with the new arena, but Disney has the right to leave after eight years. Disney also holds the right to film a sequel to its “Mighty Ducks” movie in the Anaheim Arena.

Disney will be able to apply many of its maintenance standards in the arena--for instance, arena employees will have to be groomed to Disney standards, meaning males cannot have mustaches.

“Ogden’s deal with Disney is done,” Daly said. “What’s being looked at is how Ogden’s deal with Disney affects the city. Ogden needs some things from the city to fulfill their commitment to Disney, and we want some things from Ogden.”

Ogden and city officials didn’t believe the last-minute requests would threaten the deal, though.

“This is not a setback--it’s just there’s still a document that has a lot of parts to it and has taken awhile to work through,” said John Nicoletti, Anaheim Arena marketing manager and an Ogden employee. “We’re going to move toward getting something into an agreement for (today’s) council meeting. For all intents and purposes, it looks extremely positive.”

Added arena general manager Brad Mayne: “There’s nothing substantial that’s getting in the way. What we’re doing now is putting in writing what everyone has agreed to.”

Daly said Ogden had to make certain assurances to Disney that were not covered by the arena operating agreement with the city in order to close the deal. In particular, Ogden promised Disney it would secure additional long- term leases for adequate parking spaces around the arena.

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.

The city has provided 3,900 parking spaces for the arena. Some of the lots, however, require pedestrians to cross busy streets.

Disney chairman Michael Eisner toured the arena and checked out parking arrangements this week. Though he praised the arena for its “fabulous” view of the rink, even “in the nose-bleed seats,” he said he was concerned about parking.

The city has apparently agreed to solve the parking problem (Daly wouldn’t elaborate as to how) but wanted something in return from Ogden--specifically, a reduction in the city’s financial liability in the $103-million arena project, Daly said.

Under the current arena operating agreement, the city could owe Ogden up to $2.5 million annually for eight years if neither a professional hockey or basketball team plays in the arena. With one professional franchise, such as the NHL expansion team, the debt would be reduced to $1.5 million a year.

Daly said city negotiators are looking to reduce the city’s $1.5 million liability even further.

“That’s one of the things on the table right now,” Daly said. “It’s a concept we like, but all details haven’t been hammered out yet.”

More than a dozen negotiators spent all day Thursday hammering out those details, and meetings were still going on at 11 p.m. The NHL has required Disney to inform the league by Monday whether it will play in 1993, but negotiators are shooting to have the deal in place by this afternoon, so the city council can approve it.

“It’s like watching Gladiators go at it,” Anaheim City Spokesman Bret Colson said of the negotiations.

Daly said he did not expect much opposition among council members to the agreement because City Manager James D. Ruth has been updating and consulting the council throughout the negotiations.