Steering Prudently Through Dire Straits : Anaheim Responds Reasonably to Many Challenges

The November election left Anaheim poised to make some crucial decisions about the future of its tourism and entertainment industries, matters of obvious concern for the larger community. That, however, was before Orange County declared bankruptcy.

With Brea postponing a community center, with Huntington Beach putting off construction of a pier restaurant, just to name a couple, Anaheim’s collection of future projects are only the most ambitious in the area’s pipeline. But Anaheim is a symbol nationally for Orange County because of the prominence of Disneyland. How all the city’s ideas turn out in the end likely will be looked to as a bellwether for any success Orange County has in recovering from the fiscal disaster.

The city appears to be handling its difficult choices, now complicated by Orange County’s problems, reasonably well. It is putting $86.5 million on hold in capital improvements, including the widening of the Santa Ana Freeway. It hired an adviser in bankruptcies to detail cash flow analysis.

The assessment last month of former longtime council member Irv Pickler that, “The sky is the limit in Anaheim” may have been a stretch even by the more optimistic standards of pre-bankruptcy Orange County appraisals. But there never has been a time when as many things seemed as possible over the long term, either.

Two of the most important components are the future of two professional teams, the football Rams and the baseball Angels.

Nobody should hold his breath on the Rams staying put, but the effort to keep them by renovating Anaheim Stadium has shifted to a local group’s exploration of building a new stadium that would be part of a major sports and entertainment complex on the Anaheim Stadium lot. This project is said to be based entirely on the concept of private financing. The baseball effort centers on a new stadium for the Angels, perhaps with redevelopment funds.

The city has talked about a sports authority to oversee the Pond and the two stadiums. Clearly, the idea of enlisting participation of the county financially and managerially in that plan now requires some rethinking.

There also is the matter of the $3 billion Disneyland expansion. That plan has been undergoing its own prior fiscal reality check. But there is no reason to abandon the concept of further developing Anaheim as a tourist destination with a number of sports and entertainment attractions.

That concept would be in keeping with what Disney has now, with Disneyland and the Mighty Ducks. However, the idea of a substantial public investment in any such improvements will have to be reconsidered in light of the county’s fiscal crisis. The city’s proposed $172-million face lift around Disneyland is said to remain on track, but the city should proceed carefully.

In light of the $169 million Anaheim invested in the county pool, City Manager James D. Ruth wisely has appealed for a calm, deliberate approach to planning. Even without a fiscal crisis in Santa Ana, the city is dependent to a degree on decisions made by others. The Rams’ fortunes seem largely out of the city’s hands, and the city has been reasonable about what it can do for Disney. Uncertainty over a public subsidy for a Disney expansion no doubt explains some of the tempered expectations already expressed.

With so much up in the air, the city appears to be taking a prudent approach. As perhaps the most symbolic focal point of sprawling Orange County’s sense of place, its future matters to all.