Supervisors Approve Study of Anaheim Arena Parking : Traffic: The solution getting the most attention is a parking structure, although estimates indicate an $8,000-$10,000 cost per parking space to build it.

Seeking solutions to traffic snarls and cramped parking at Anaheim Arena, the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a 30-day study of ways to ease congestion outside the arena on event nights.

In a unanimous vote, the supervisors instructed the county Environmental Management Agency to analyze measures that could ease traffic tie-ups. The board also ordered a second study of expanding the arena’s four off-site parking lots, all of which are county-owned. That study will look at the possibility of building a parking structure.

Supervisor William G. Steiner, whose 4th District encompasses Anaheim, said the studies will focus on three options to increase parking: building a parking structure; selling some county-owned lots to the city of Anaheim; or expanding the lots at county expense.

The shortage of parking spots for the fledgling arena was painfully obvious during the facility’s inaugural event, a June 19 Barry Manilow concert, where about 12,000 fans vied for 520 on-site spots and about 4,155 spaces in adjacent or nearby county-owned lots.

“The parking-structure option seems to be getting the most attention, but we realize that may not be financially feasible,” Steiner said. “The structure could provide more revenue for the county and assist the arena with its problems, so it could be a win-win situation.”

A study done for Anaheim city officials on similar-scale estimates costs as high as $8,000 to $10,000 per parking space to build a new parking structure, an investment Steiner said was a daunting proposition in difficult economic times.

Supervisor Gaddi H. Vasquez said that while he didn’t have enough information to decide whether to support a parking structure, he would be hesitant to support a parking plan that would include the sale of any county property to the city of Anaheim.

“Real estate is easily the most valuable asset the county has, and it is in short supply,” Vasquez said. “We’re talking about real estate that is worth quite a lot.”

Property in that area has been priced as high as $1 million per acre, according to estimates by city officials. The county owns about 30 acres surrounding the arena.

“I think we have to look at the numbers on this,” Vasquez said.

If the board opts to increase available spaces without building a parking structure, Steiner said, the four county lots already leased or loaned to the city of Anaheim would be prime targets for renovation and expansion.

The lots, combined, now total 30 acres, and the vast majority of the arena’s parking spaces. Among those properties is a 13-acre lot that houses a county maintenance yard and 426 parking spaces spread over just three of its acres. Steiner said the area is a prime site for potential expansion.