O.C. Sportstown Unveiled

ANAHEIM —  A monorail linking three major sporting venues to Disneyland. Tourists and locals flocking to a Western-themed park for dinner at trendy restaurants. A big hotel overlooking a new football stadium, home to an undetermined NFL team. And a backdrop of orchards--a nod to the county’s agricultural roots.

All in one complex--Sportstown Anaheim.

That is what city officials Wednesday said they envision for a 159-acre parcel surrounding Anaheim Stadium.

City officials said the project would help bolster the region’s economy and solidify the area as a top draw in Southern California.

The sports, entertainment, retail and office complex was conceived as a way to take full advantage of the stadium property, which has easy access to freeways and an Amtrak station, and maximize a cluster of attractions that include the Big A, The Pond and Disneyland, which also plans to expand. The city next month intends to unveil renovation plans for its nearby Convention Center.

All these projects are seen as crucial for the city to maintain its reputation as a mecca for tourism and professional sports.

Sportstown is perhaps the most ambitious. It would be divided into five districts, one of which would be anchored by a new football stadium.

Plans also call for renovation of Anaheim Stadium, which would be turned back into a baseball-only facility, and a youth sports center called the Little a.

Anaheim leaders have not disclosed the projected cost of the complex, which would be built in stages over an unspecified period. They said they are counting on a partnership with private developers.

City officials insist their successful track record--which includes an arena, stadium and convention center--will remain intact with their latest project.

“This plan is very practical and doable,” Mayor Tom Daly said. “We wouldn’t announce these plans if we didn’t think we could follow through with them.”

City officials stressed that the plans for the project could change, and they expect more details to be revealed in coming months. In about two weeks, the city will release an environmental impact report gauging the project’s effect on the surrounding area. The public will be given about six weeks to comment on the report.

Still, the city decided to make its conceptual plans public, hoping to attract private investors.

“We’ve created an economic magnet for private developers to join with us to maximize this tremendous asset,” City Manager James D. Ruth said. “Our goal now will be to partner with one or more of those developers to make this concept become a reality.”

More than 100 city and business leaders attended Wednesday’s unveiling at Anaheim Stadium, including California Angels owners Gene and Jackie Autry, who had not previously seen the plans and were reticent about them.

“This is just too much to digest in one sitting,” Jackie Autry said.

Curiously, representatives from Walt Disney Co. were not present at the morning news conference. The company has been asked to be a partner in the venture, which also would eventually be linked to Disneyland, two miles away.

The entertainment giant, owner of The Pond’s major tenant, the Mighty Ducks professional hockey team, bought 25% of the Angels last year. Disney officials have participated in some planning meetings for Sportstown Anaheim and are expected to have major influence on the project. Disney’s partial purchase of the team is expected to be finalized soon.

But Disney officials Wednesday would not commit to Sportstown.

“Everything looks like it will be done first class,” said Bill Robertson, spokesman for Disney Sports Enterprises. “Obviously, we’ve seen the drawings, but it’s too preliminary for us to comment on at this point.”

Ruth said city officials will know “within 90 days” whether they have landed a National Football League franchise to replace the Rams, which departed to St. Louis last year. Ruth declined to elaborate.

If the city is successful in landing a football team, that would accelerate the building of the football stadium. But Ruth said Sportstown Anaheim will be built with or without a football stadium.

“If we don’t get a team this year, then we are not overly optimistic that one will be available for several years,” he said. “Right now, there is a window of opportunity.”

Sports agent Leigh Steinberg, who spearheaded the effort to keep the Rams in Anaheim last year and is involved in efforts to land a new team, said Wednesday that the announcement of the proposed complex comes at a crucial time.

“I think it’s the major step and makes Anaheim an increasingly desirable place for a team to relocate,” Steinberg said. “The fight for a new team is fundamentally a facilities fight. And now, there’s a facility and a vibrant plan. To [paraphrase] Kevin Costner, ‘If we build a stadium, they will come.’ ”

Greg Aiello, NFL director of communications, said the league would not comment on Anaheim’s Sportstown project. Regardless of what happens with professional football, it is virtually certain Anaheim will have a baseball team playing at the Big A.

Jackie Autry said she is concerned the development will take parking spaces away from the Big A, noting the city is required to provide 12,500 parking slots during Angels games. She also wondered where the Angels would play during any stadium renovations.

City officials did not immediately respond to those concerns.

Gene Autry, 88, said only: “I thought it all looked very nice. I hope the city does well. I think they will.”

The development’s five districts include:

* The A Station: a regional hub for multiple forms of transit, home to a 150,000-square-foot exhibition center for a variety of public shows, corporate exhibits and professional sports showcases such as the NFL Experience. The area also would have 900,000 square feet of office space.

* The Gateway District: This would form a grand entry into Sportstown and might include a new football stadium and a themed hotel with 250 rooms overlooking it. It also would include a large bookstore, coffeehouses, nightclubs, music stores, sports retailers and children’s entertainment. This area would be easily accessible from Katella Avenue and Gene Autry Way.

* The Orchards District: an area anchored by a redesigned, baseball-only Anaheim Stadium, which would be surrounded by a sweeping orchard. The area would have a 250-room hotel, lush gardens and a private club.

* The Little a: an area providing amateur sports competition venues for local residents. The facility would host a variety of community events including championship games, sports camps and other athletic activities.

* The Flying A Ranch: a pedestrian link between Sportstown Anaheim and The Pond. It would be designed as a Western-themed stage set, with restaurants, retail stores and live entertainment venues such as dinner houses, dance halls and a small championship rodeo facility.

Sportstown Anaheim was designed by Jerde Partnership Inc., the firm responsible for CityWalk in Universal City, MainPlace in Santa Ana and Fashion Island in Newport Beach.

“This is sort of a new prototype,” lead architect Carl Worthington said. “All of a sudden, we are reinventing sports venues. We want to spread out the leisure activity to two hours before the game and two hours after. You can spend the whole day instead of leaving 10 minutes after the game.”

The Venice-based firm was among seven companies that worked on different aspects of the plan under the auspices of the Spectrum Group, an Irvine-based consulting firm headed by former Santa Ana Mayor Daniel H. Young.

“This was our opportunity to have some fun, to be a visionary and look into the future to see what we could create,” Young said. “I think this takes stadium building to its next level.”

Daly compared Wednesday’s announcement to other milestones in the city’s history.

“This is a project for the 1990s into the year 2000,” he said. “This is what Disneyland was in the 1950s, the Convention Center and stadium in the 1960s, and The Pond in the 1980s. This is designed to build on those successes.”

The plan was enthusiastically received by many in the business and tourism community Wednesday, even though its financial aspects have not been determined.

“It’s a plan that makes sense,” said Jack Kyser, chief economist at the Economic Development Corp. of Los Angeles County. “I think Anaheim is looking ahead, and I think they can do it. It’s going to be difficult but maybe not as difficult as you would think because people are starting to realize that Southern California is back.”

Also supportive of Anaheim’s efforts is Jack Lundquist, former president of Disneyland.

“It’s tremendously exciting,” Lundquist said before the news conference. “I’ve been around this city for more than 40 years, and I’ve seen them do a lot of things.”