Anaheim Opens Door, but Disney Stays Away

Mayor Tom Daly adopted a conciliatory and hopeful tone toward Walt Disney Co. on Friday although the company reaffirmed its refusal to buy the California Angels because it could not reach an agreement with the city over Anaheim Stadium renovations and a lease for the ball club.

“I think everyone needs to take a deep breath, relax, and decide what it is they really want to accomplish,” Daly said. “I think all of the parties owe it to themselves to keep talking and to keep working toward solutions.”

Disney walked away from negotiations with the city on Wednesday, several days before a March 17 deadline that had been set by the company to reach an agreement on a $100-million renovation of Anaheim Stadium and an extended lease for the Angels.

After the deadline--which is actually Monday since March 17 falls on a weekend--Disney is free to walk away from purchasing 25% and controlling interest in the Angels, a deal approved by Major League Baseball on Jan. 18. After the deadline, owners Jackie and Gene Autry may search for another buyer, and they have threatened to move the team from Anaheim when its lease expires in six years unless Disney and the city work things out.

In developments Friday:

* Disney Sports Enterprises President Tony Tavares said in an interview that there are no plans to resume talks with the city before the deadline and sought to quell speculation that the impasse is merely a negotiating ploy to try to get a better deal out of Anaheim.

“This is not posturing,” Tavares said. “We’re trying to act in a reasonable fashion. We wanted to put people on notice that we had reached an impasse.”

* Hollywood Park Chairman R.D. Hubbard, who Jackie Autry said Thursday had expressed interest in building the Angels a stadium in Inglewood, said his top priority is trying to land a professional football team.

“Everything would depend on what happens down there in Anaheim,” Hubbard said. “I personally don’t think the deal with Disney is dead. I think they can get it worked out. But if it doesn’t happen, I’d be glad to talk to them. We definitely have an interest in baseball.”

* American League President Gene Budig released a statement saying that he would continue to “encourage both parties to pursue further discussions.”

* Jackie Autry, who blames the city for the deal’s collapse, reiterated her vow to move the baseball team from Anaheim when its current lease expires in 2001. Autry contends that city officials are putting their hopes of landing a new professional football team ahead of baseball.

Daly said Budig could be just the person to revive the negotiations between the city and Disney. The mayor said this week’s breakdown could be attributed to some misunderstandings between the two parties.

“I think the proposed agreement became more complicated than it needed to be because of those misunderstandings,” said Daly, who declined to elaborate.

*

The major deal-breaking points, both sides agree, were the city’s hopes of luring a football team to Anaheim to play at the Big A as early as next fall and plans to build Sportstown Anaheim, a sports, entertainment and retail complex on stadium around the stadium, linking it to the Pond nearby.

The city has not said how it would pay for the multimillion project, but sources said several major private investors have expressed interest.

Disney did not believe that it could be assured of enough parking spaces for the stadium with Sportstown and a new football stadium. Another major issue was the length of the proposed lease. It was for 33 years but included an escape clause that would have allowed Disney to move the team from the Big A after 15 years.

Tavares said the company was deeply concerned about the possible effect of a football team and the city’s plans to build Sportstown Anaheim.

“We have no problem with football and Sportstown except to the point that they impact baseball operations,” Tavares said. “The 15-year lease is geared toward the fact that there are so many unknowns regarding Sportstown and football.”

Disney officials say Sportstown and a new football stadium would not leave the Big A with adequate parking and would interfere with the Disney “guest experience.” Tavares said that since the complex is still mostly conceptual, it is impossible to determine how it might affect the baseball stadium.

Several city officials have pointed to the 15-year escape clause as a major sticking point since their Sportstown complex is dependent on major anchor tenants like a baseball and football team.

“If Sportstown becomes ‘Ghost-town’ after 15 years because a major tenant leaves, you would have a real problem,” said Councilman Bob Zemel, who added that the escape clause would make it difficult for the city to finance the project with bonds.

Tavares defended the 15-year aspect of the lease, saying that if the team were to leave, Disney would be penalized in that they would lose the $70 million it had invested in renovating the stadium into a baseball-only facility and would have to guarantee the city its $30 million share.

“When [Zemel] indicates it’s not bondable, that’s simply not true,” Tavares said. “The [15-year clause] was backed by a guarantee. We presented what in our view was a very fair deal and a deal that recognized Anaheim’s current fiscal limitations and was fair to all parties involved.”

*

But city officials--while limited from discussing specific aspects of the deal--said the proposal presented to them Tuesday by Disney was simply unacceptable and had several new last-minute points that were unfavorable to the city.

Among them: The new offer virtually cut off all of the city’s revenue streams from the stadium and gave Disney booking rights at events held at a new football stadium, sources said.

With at least six seasons left in Anaheim for the Angels, city officials said they want to work toward healing the rift with Autry.

“I’m sorry she feels the way she does,” Councilman Tom Tait said. “I think we will be able to repair things. We would like to.”

“We want the team to stay here,” Councilman Lou Lopez added. “When emotions calm down, we’d like to sit down and talk about the Angels’ future in Anaheim.”