Newer Stadiums Leave Anaheim in the Dust : Facilities: Officials wonder whether to update 28-year-old park--which is too big, cold and sterile--or start from scratch.

It’s clean, it’s well-maintained and well-run, it has plenty of luxury suites, and you have to look real close to notice any major signs of aging.

So why is Anaheim Stadium one of the worst sports facilities in the country?

One need only stroll through Baltimore’s Oriole Park at Camden Yards or Texas’ Ballpark at Arlington to find the answer.

It’s not that Anaheim Stadium has deteriorated to the point where it’s uninhabitable. It’s just that stadiums built in the past five years are so much better, they simply leave the 28-year-old Anaheim facility in the dust.

The new baseball stadiums are smaller, more intimate and more classic in design. They include nostalgic touches like the outfield in Arlington--which is part Fenway Park, part Tiger Stadium and part Royals Stadium--or the brick facades and old-fashioned seats in Camden Yards.

They offer state-of-the-art amenities like spacious, plush luxury suites and club concourses with upgraded services, without compromising charm.

And Anaheim? Way too big for baseball, with 69,000 seats. Way too cold, with concrete block walls and gray, rubber floors throughout the concourses. Way too sterile, with no distinguishing architectural characteristics. And luxury suites that are too small and plain to command the premium prices other teams receive.

“You come in here and see symmetrical concrete,” Angel President Richard Brown said. “There’s nothing unique about this stadium that would attract fans to the stadium itself, whereas Camden Yards attracts people because of its ambience, and The Ballpark at Arlington has something for everyone. Those things have passed us by.”

It’s not too late to catch up, though, and building a new stadium might not be the only answer. Iskander Abdulla, an Orange-based construction cost engineer, believes a renovation that would make the stadium more suitable for football could be completed for about $47 million.

And if the Rams leave, Abdulla believes the Angels can convert the stadium back to a nice open-air baseball facility, with several items Brown desires, for about $59 million.

Both figures are much lower than the $120-million to $200-million price tag attached to a new baseball or football stadium.

“This is a utilitarian building,” said Abdulla, who did estimates for the stadium enclosure in 1978. “It would function OK for another 50 years, but aesthetically, it’s a different story. You need to hire a good architect and an interior designer.”

City officials and representatives of the Task Force to Keep the Rams in Orange County are exploring a stadium renovation, which would likely focus heavily on the club level, the middle concourse that the Rams and Angels would like to convert to a premium-seating area with special amenities.

Among the possibilities:

* Install new cabinets, furniture, ceilings, carpeting, lighting and top-of-the-line appliances in some 100 luxury suites.

* Move the suites closer to the field, from their present location at the back of the club level to at least the middle of the club level--on a plane with the baseball press box--or, possibly, at the front of the club level.

* Enclose the entire club concourse and install plush carpet, new wall coverings and a ceiling that would conceal all the visible pipes, ducts and catwalks.

* Rebuild concession stands and lounges on the club level, so upgraded food and beverage service can be offered to club-seat patrons.

“A refurbished stadium might offer luxury suites that could generate more revenue,” said sports agent Leigh Steinberg, head of the Rams task force. “They’re in the $70,000 range at other stadiums but only about $40,000 here. That differential over a hundred boxes obviously adds a lot of income.”

Other possible renovations would be to replace all the seats in the stadium and lower the football playing field to create better sight lines for spectators.

If the Rams leave, Brown would like to open the stadium back up, a project that would require demolition of about 20,000 to 25,000 outfield seats, which Abdulla estimates would cost about $12 million. But that would also reduce the number of suites and the amount of club-level concourse space by about 30%, and thus reduce the cost of other renovations.

Brown also would like to build a restaurant and sports bar in the outfield, one that is open to the field.

“I’d call it the Hard Ball Cafe,” Brown said.

That would sure beat the view of the outfield Brown has now.

“I’ve had guests in my box who have asked how big the crowd was, and it was 35,000 one night,” Brown said. “They said, ‘Geez, it looks like about 20,000.’ There really isn’t a great atmosphere even when you have a crowd of 35,000 because it’s spread over 69,000 seats.”

But many of those seats are usually filled for such stadium events as motocross, concerts and religious crusades. Anaheim also has the Disneyland Pigskin Classic and Freedom Bowl football games and is trying to attract a national college football championship game, which would require the present configuration with a large number of seats. Those factors could weigh in any decision to convert back to a baseball setup.

“Even if the Rams aren’t here, could we afford to lose that many seats to satisfy the Angels and have other events in the building?” said Greg Smith, stadium general manager. “If we couldn’t have those other events, we would have a loss.”

And Brown isn’t so sure that a renovation, despite its lower cost, would outweigh the benefits of a new stadium.

“You get into all this, and you might run into a situation where it would be smarter, and you’d have a better end product, by redesigning a stadium from scratch, building it next to this one, and even maintaining the old one,” Brown said. “When the bonds are paid off, it might make a profit from concerts and other events.”

Renovation Price Tags

Possible changes at Anaheim Stadium for either the Rams or Angels would be expensive propositions for the city. Estimates include “hard costs” (materials and labor) and “soft costs” (architect and engineering fees, insurance, taxes, legal fees, etc.).

FOR FOOTBALL

* Renovate interior, including replacement of cabinets, furniture, ceilings, carpeting, lighting and appliances in luxury suites: $3.2 million

* Move suites closer to field, level with baseball press box on the view level: $10 million

* Upgrade about 30,000 square feet of club-level concourse with new floor and wall coverings and enclose with new ceiling: $2 million

* Replace 69,000 stadium seats: $17 million

* Build new concession areas and gift shops on the club level: $2.5 million

* Lower field five feet to create better sight lines: $500,000

Hard construction: $35.2 million

Soft construction: $12.0 million

Total: $47.2 million

FOR BASEBALL

* Demolish 20,000-25,000 outfield seats and concourses on three levels: $12 million

* Build restaurant and sports bar in outfield: $4 million

* Replace suite cabinets, furniture, ceilings, carpeting, lighting, appliances: $2.3 million

* Move luxury suites closer to field, level with baseball press box on the view level: $10 million

* Upgrade club concourse with new floor, wall coverings and new ceiling: $1.5 million

* Replace 47,000 stadium seats: $12 million

* Build new concession areas, gift shops on the club level: $2 million

Hard construction: $43.8 million

Soft construction: $10.1 million

Total: $59.1 million

Source: Iskander Associates Inc.