ORANGE COUNTY PERSPECTIVE : Some Planning, and Some Luck

The opening ceremonies for the Anaheim Arena this week signal the advent of a major new sports facility in Orange County, and it all seems almost unbelievable.

Consider all that has happened since Anaheim went out on a limb and broke ground several years ago. At that time, the city was emerging from its race with Santa Ana to be first on the block with a new indoor sports facility. With no tenants in sight, the question for the sole survivor seemed to be: What does the dropout know that we haven’t figured out yet?

Anaheim had, in fact, provided the land and agreed to pay its partners $2.5 million annually for eight years unless both a professional hockey team and a basketball team arrived. It looked as if the city was going to take a bath.

But then the Walt Disney Co. came forward with the announcement that it had acquired an expansion hockey franchise and would put it in the arena. It was a touch of wizardry, perhaps even a wave of the wand that Mickey wielded as the sorcerer’s apprentice in “Fantasia.” Anaheim’s overnight good fortune proved that shrewd planning is not always enough; it is also important to be lucky.

The city gambled and won even when the economics of providing arenas made it especially difficult to attract teams. Fortunately, Disney had a few other things going on in town. What had looked foolish for the city suddenly looked like sound planning.

There is, however, still the prospect of having to pay up to $7.5 million if no professional basketball team comes on line within eight years. But Anaheim, with its entertainment complexes, is now on the boards. And it seems likely that the draw of the Mighty Ducks hockey franchise will nicely complement Disneyland and its planned expansion. The city also has the existing draw of the Rams and Angels at Anaheim Stadium.

In the end, this is a real benefit for Orange County. Anaheim still needs more good luck. But when singer Barry Manilow performs at the arena opening Saturday night, one of his standards will seem especially apt for the moment: “Looks Like We Made It.”