ANAHEIM : Rams, City Closer to Practice Field Accord

Negotiators for the city and the Rams are close to resolving a protracted lease dispute over the team’s practice facility, officials confirmed Tuesday.

City officials said the renewed negotiations are aimed at heading off a court eviction process that was started last week by Magnolia School District, which owns the site.

“I think we have made significant progress, but nothing is over until it is over,” City Manager James D. Ruth said.

Mayor Tom Daly agreed that “the door remains open” and “progress has been made.”

Ruth, Daly and other city officials declined to discuss how the two sides are planning to resolve the dispute, but sources close to the negotiations say the Rams have apparently reconsidered their position and are prepared to accept the city’s last offer.

Under that offer, the city would subsidize about $3 million of the team’s rent over the course of a 15-year lease. The Rams would be able to break the lease at any time provided they give at least six months’ notice, pay $220,000 and restore the practice site to its original condition. The city agreed to pay about half of the estimated $1.2 million to $1.5 million in restoration costs.

School district officials could not be reached for comment late Tuesday. But city officials said the district had indicated it would consider dropping the eviction lawsuit if the city and Rams reached an agreement soon.

Jay Zygmunt, senior vice president for the Rams, said the team’s attorneys have contacted the city about settling the lease dispute. He said the attorneys will meet with the city today for further negotiations. He would not elaborate.

Although the school district owns the site, the city leases the property from the district and then sublets it to the Rams. That lease, however, expired Dec. 31.

City and district officials have tried for months to accommodate the Rams’ concerns about the lease extension. Three separate deadlines had been set and extended in an effort to resolve the matter amicably.

Last week, however, district officials filed suit to evict the team from the premises because they said it was clear that the team did not want to practice on their property.

The struggle over extending the team’s lease for the practice facility has come to represent the rift that has grown between the city and Rams. Team officials have said they will exercise an escape clause in their Anaheim Stadium lease May 3 and look to move the team to a city that offers greater financial opportunities.