Museum May Lose Home, but It Hasn’t Lost Hope : Venues: Anaheim may kick Broadcasters Hall of Fame out of stadium today. Group wants city in its future.

The National Broadcasters Hall of Fame may have its lease at Anaheim Stadium terminated by the City Council today, but organizers won’t give up their dream of someday opening a museum in the city.

Since plans for the museum kicked off with much fanfare last fall, organizers have been beset with business and personal difficulties, which they said were further complicated by the major league baseball strike and the announced departure of the Los Angeles Rams from Anaheim Stadium.

“When we began our planning, we thought there would be 4 million people coming through the stadium with the Rams there and the (California) Angels there,” said Josh Schreiber, vice president of the Hall of Fame. “But getting funding from sponsors was tough because of what was happening with the Rams. Then the baseball strike hit and our sponsors said, ‘We want to wait and see.’ ”

As a result, the organization ran out of money before it could open its doors at the Big A.

The city was angered because the group never paid its first month’s rent for the 3,000-square-foot space it leased. It still owes the city $48,600 in back rent. The city staff has recommended that the council end the lease.

In some good news for the Hall of Fame, Anaheim Stadium General Manager Greg Smith said last week that he will propose to the council that the city not seek payment of the back rent since the space would have remained vacant anyway.

“There was no out-of-pocket loss,” Smith said. “We lost the ability to lease to someone else. If I could have, I would have, but no one came forward.”

The hall was founded in Freehold, N.J., to honor contributions in broadcasting. Arthur S. Schreiber, the father of Josh Schreiber, decided last year to relocate from New Jersey to Anaheim Stadium.

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The museum planned at the Big A was to preserve radio memorabilia, exhibiting early wireless devices, vintage microphones and the actual NBC chimes.

It was also to provide visitors with access to a collection of 30,000 old radio programs, including “The Lone Ranger,” “Gunsmoke” and “Captain Midnight.”

“We like the idea because it could be used as an educational tool,” Smith said. “We have thousands of kids touring the stadium each year and the Hall of Fame could be part of the tours.”

Unfortunately, the elder Schreiber suffered a heart attack shortly after the Hall of Fame had its first inductee dinner at Disneyland Hotel, which added to the organization’s woes.

So for now, the museum’s memorabilia remains in storage and dreams for the Hall of Fame are in limbo.

But the Schreibers aren’t giving up, especially since the city is negotiating a new lease with the California Angels that would include a new baseball stadium.

The city also recently hired a consulting firm to develop a master plan to revitalize an 807-acre area that includes Anaheim Stadium and The Pond.

The consultants are exploring ways to link the city’s sports facilities to tourist destinations such as Disneyland.

“If we could keep a relationship with Anaheim, we’d love to be a part of a new stadium or sports complex,” Josh Schreiber said.

Smith said that despite the false start, the city remains open to future negotiations with the National Broadcasters Hall of Fame.

“They are good, honest people and their hearts are in the right spot, and when you get that, you want to try and make it work with them,” Smith said. “We certainly would give them serious consideration in the future.”