ORANGE COUNTY PERSPECTIVE : Post-Rams Planning

Anaheim officials are right to plan for life without the Rams, even while trying to induce the professional football team to stay.

City executives said last week that they are considering a plan to create a sports and entertainment complex in the area of Anaheim Stadium, home to the Rams and the California Angels baseball team. The complex could be linked to Disneyland and the Anaheim Convention Center by monorail.

A second plan envisions a large retail center near the stadium and along the Santa Ana River trail, much like CityWalk in Universal City.

The major question in both concepts, which are still in the very early talking stages, is where to get the money. City officials rightly hope to raise as much as possible from private sources.

Anaheim wisely is trying to hang onto the Rams, who have said they are looking at other cities where they might make more money after their lease expires next year. Regardless of how the team does on the field--poorly in recent years--the city indeed benefits from leasing the stadium and getting a cut of the tickets and concessions. Area merchants also benefit from the tens of thousands of fans who show up on game day.

But negotiations over renewing the lease on a former school the Rams use as a training facility show how tough a bargainer the team can be, and Anaheim cannot afford to give the team everything it may seek. The city would do well to have a plan in place if the moving trucks pull up to the stadium some time next year.