Anaheim Should Hold Line on Rams : * NFL Team Is Important, but Don’t Give the Store Away
In the possible loss of the Rams, and uncertainty about the Disneyland expansion, Anaheim faces its most difficult challenges in years. The city must protect itself from being taken advantage of, while also trying to keep these important pieces of the puzzle in place for the future.
The new year thus finds Anaheim at a critical juncture. The news this season has not been all that might be hoped for from a place intimately associated with Jiminy Cricket, who reminded us that dreams come true if only we wish upon a star. Wishing is clearly not enough in a shaky economy and the often-restive world of professional sports.
In an interview with The Times last month, Georgia Frontiere, owner of the Rams, acknowledged that she was exploring the option of moving the professional football team. At the same time, the resignation of the project director for the $3-billion Disneyland Resort and Westcot theme park fueled concern that the anticipated new theme park might not be built at all. The difficulties of the Euro Disneyland project and the vicissitudes of the state’s economy reportedly are giving the Walt Disney Co. some second thoughts about going ahead.
If merely providing the good weather were sufficient to catapult Anaheim successfully into the next phase of its growth and development there would be no problem. But the Southern California climate alone doesn’t seem to guarantee much of anything these days.
Last Sunday, when Anaheim provided perfect football temperatures, and even as a number of National Football League games were played around the country on ice, the Rams drew the fewest fans for a non-strike game since they moved to Anaheim from Los Angeles 15 years ago.
Keeping the team without giving away the store--now there’s the trick. The Rams are an important component of civic pride in Anaheim and Orange County. The city very much needs to retain them, but the team has an escape clause in its lease for the use of Anaheim Stadium.
The dilemma is complicated by the fact that the team is not winning on the field, which increases the attractiveness of “the-grass-is-greener-elsewhere” as a solution for poor performance.
The fans will attend if the team will just win, but it also seems clear that the city is going to have to make concessions. Last week, a meeting of community and city leaders was held to discuss the situation. That was useful. It likely will take dollars to keep the Rams when football-starved cities like Baltimore are offering to lease them a stadium for $1 a season, and all proceeds from ticket sales, luxury boxes and parking fees. Mayor Tom Daly correctly observed that if the city had the talent to get the Rams in the first place, it should be able to put something together now. County business and political leaders should do what they can to help.
Meanwhile, a once sure thing, the Disneyland expansion, now is in question. The entertainment giant has sought up to $1 billion in public improvements from the city and state. Will recent talk of abandonment result in greater generosity from the city than otherwise might have been forthcoming? The city is in a difficult position, but it must hold its ground on this one. It must ensure as before that any public investment in infrastructure pencils out for the taxpayer.
If only providing the sunny setting were all that Anaheim had to do at this critical juncture in its history to generate new business. But it’s not. Clearly, there are a lot of intangibles. The city’s leadership is being tested as never before.