Details Near to Link Pond With Big A : Development: Flexible blueprint for sports and entertainment complex is expected by early January at the latest.

Plans for a large sports and entertainment complex next to Anaheim Stadium will be unveiled by the end of the year or early January, according to city officials.

The city wants to revitalize the stadium area with a complex unofficially dubbed “SportsTown,” which would link the Big A to The Pond arena nearby. Officials remain tight-lipped about details of the plans, which consultants have been developing for almost a year. The possibility of trendy restaurants, stores and a virtual-reality entertainment center has been discussed.

The complex is being designed by Spectrum Group, whose consultants include Jerde Partnership Inc., the firm responsible for designing the popular CityWalk in Universal City.

“We view this plan as a conceptual blueprint,” Mayor Tom Daly said. “It allows for a variety of alternatives depending on future circumstances. There are some very creative ideas that are beginning to emerge.”

Plans under development include options for having one or two stadiums in the area, officials said.

When the city hired the design consultants in February, the thinking was that there would be two stadiums in the complex: the Big A and a new baseball-only stadium the city was negotiating to build for the California Angels.

But the Walt Disney Co.’s partial purchase of the baseball team-- announced in May and expected to be finalized soon--has altered those plans. Walt Disney Co. Chairman Michael D. Eisner has said the company favors renovating Anaheim Stadium into a baseball-only facility.

This means if the city is able to lure another National Football League franchise to Anaheim to replace the recently departed Rams, a new football stadium would have to be built.

“We are looking at the economics of each option,” City Manager James D. Ruth said. “The city is obviously seeking another NFL franchise. We lost a tenant and we’re trying to get another one.”

Ruth would not reveal which football franchises the city has contacted and said Anaheim’s first priority is reaching an agreement to extend the Angels’ lease, which expires in 2000.

The consultants will also seek ways to link the city’s sports facilities to other nearby tourist spots, such as Disneyland and the Anaheim Convention Center.

Said Daly: “The challenge we gave to the consultants was to capitalize on the great freeway access that exists, on the benefit of having an Amtrak station in the stadium parking lot and the fact that the stadium and The Pond are well-known destinations.”