Anaheim Could Learn From Detroit’s Failure

The idea of a multipurpose athletic-entertainment-shopping complex--which Anaheim officials have dubbed Sportstown--is not new.

Detroit Tiger officials have been there and couldn’t do that.

For two years, Tiger officials dreamed of a sprawling 80-acre everything-in-one facility. It would be home to the new Tiger Stadium, shops, theaters, possibly even a new hockey venue. It looked good on paper. But the cost was estimated at $450 million.

“It was too big,” said Tom Shields, the president of a marketing resource group hired by the Tigers. “To build something like that, you have to go out to green space. You can’t do it in a city. You would be asking the city to acquire all that property and that type of money is hard to come up with.”

Anaheim officials seem headed in another direction. City officials seem intent on pushing ahead with Sportstown, a 159-acre complex that would include the Pond, a renovated Anaheim Stadium and a football stadium in a sports, entertainment and retail complex.

Those plans, along with the city’s desire for an NFL franchise, led to breakdown in negotiations with the Walt Disney Co, which was to buy controlling interest in the Angels.

In Detroit, the idea was baseball-first. For 15 years, Tiger and city officials negotiated, fought and failed in an attempt to build a stadium. Only after the project was downsized could a deal be worked out.

“No one could come up with the $460 million,” said Jim Tervo, Detroit’s assistant mayor for economic development. “We convinced them a baseball stadium alone would be a boost to the center of the city. We scaled everything back and concentrated on baseball.”

Anaheim appears to be doing the opposite. City officials have not disclosed Sportstown’s cost, nor has financing been announced. Still, City Manager Jim Ruth said Wednesday that Sportstown “is our future.”

City officials have gambled and won in the past. The Pond, the city’s basketball/hockey arena, was built without the guarantee of a tenant. Disney was then awarded an NHL expansion team.

According to Daly, the $126-million debt is being paid off by Ogden Facilities Management Corp., which operates the arena, from the Pond’s revenue.

Brad Mayne, general manager of the Pond, said the company is paying off everything from the architect fees to infrastructure costs, plus legal fees and lending fees.