Debate Over Planned Sports Complex Grows

A shovel hasn’t hit the ground yet and it’s not known who will foot the bill, but a multimillion-dollar sports, entertainment and retail complex envisioned around Anaheim Stadium is already playing a major role in the future of professional sports in the city.

The complex, Sportstown Anaheim, would be anchored by a renovated Big A and a brand-new football stadium--all linked to the Pond nearby. Its creators say the concept--a high-tech exhibition hall, two new hotels and a multitude of shops and restaurants would also ultimately be included--takes full advantage of the 159 acres of stadium property and reinvents what going to the game is all about. People, they say, will spread their leisure time out before and after events at the stadiums.

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But after Sportstown figured prominently in the Walt Disney Co.’s decision not to buy the California Angels, debate has intensified over whether the project is an unrealistic dream or the key to the city’s economic future and goal to become the region’s professional sports mecca.

Disney walked away from buying the Angels partly, company officials say, because of the uncertainty surrounding the Sportstown plan: It has no known private investors.

Still, Mayor Tom Daly says the city is sticking to its “bold dream.”

“Without those bold dreams, there can be no bold outcome,” Daly said last week at a gathering of about 100 business and community leaders. “We have the determination and we have the desire to put all of these elements together.”

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But it is uncertain if the city can pull off Sportstown without a professional football team and with the future of the Angels in question. With Disney refusing to buy the team, owners Gene and Jackie Autry have threatened to move the Angels when the ball club’s lease expires in five years.

Although the Mighty Ducks already play at the Pond and the city hopes the Los Angeles Clippers or another National Basketball Assn. team will be joining them soon, experts agree that Sportstown simply cannot be built without a professional baseball or football team.

“If the Angels leave you can say goodbye to Sportstown,” said Jack Kyser, chief economist for the Economic Development Corp. in Los Angeles. “Every sports team is literally mobile now. You don’t want to make an enormous investment and then see your sports team waving bye-bye from the back of a moving van.”

The city knows this lesson well: The Los Angeles Rams abandoned Anaheim Stadium last year for plush new digs in St. Louis. Anaheim had refused to build a new stadium for the Rams; St. Louis offered up a new, taxpayer-financed 70,000-seat domed stadium that comes with luxury box and club seat guarantees. This deal is expected to net the Rams more than $20 million in pretax profits.

The Sportstown dilemma comes at a time when other cities--eager to woo professional sports team or keep the ones already in town--have experienced mixed results funding sports complexes and stadiums.

In Detroit, a proposal for an 80-acre facility featuring a new Tiger Stadium, shops, theaters and possibly a new professional hockey arena was scuttled because of its $450-million price tag.

Boston fared better in its venture to attract private investors for a $160-million arena for the city’s professional basketball and hockey teams called The FleetCenter, which debuted in 1995. Its opening silenced doubters, who swore “pigs would fly” before the venue opened. And last week, Cincinnati voters narrowly approved a 0.5%C sales tax hike to finance new professional football and baseball stadiums.

Anaheim officials acknowledge that in Orange County it would be politically difficult to commit taxpayer money to building a stadium or sports complex.

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A majority of the City Council was willing to use $30 million of city funds toward a $100-million renovation of Anaheim Stadium, with Disney paying the rest. But when the city could not be guaranteed a direct way of making a return on its investment, the council ultimately rejected Disney’s offer.

Anaheim also refused to give up potentially lucrative rights to the stadium parking lot--where much of the development would occur--and rejected Disney’s proposal for a provision that would have allowed the company to break the Angels’ lease after 15 years, instead of the 30 years the city sought.

Anaheim Councilman Bob Zemel said the failed negotiations “proved that the city is committed to Sportstown. We have an asset over there surrounding Anaheim Stadium and it is paved over with blacktop and white stripes.”

Sportstown would be divided into five distinct districts: a high-tech exhibition center; two new hotels; the Little a, an area for amateur sports competition; businesses such as a large bookstore, coffeehouses, nightclubs, music stores and sports retailers; The Flying A Ranch, a western-themed area with restaurants and live entertainment and dance hall.

It all sounds a little too conceptual for Disney.

“There are so many unknowns about Sportstown and football, we didn’t feel comfortable locking into a [long-term] lease not knowing what this would look like at the end of the day,” Disney Sports Enterprises President Tony Tavares said recently.

Disney’s 25% purchase of the Angels, approved by major league baseball in January, was contingent on the company reaching an agreement with the city over stadium issues within 60 days. When the March 18 deadline was not met, Disney elected to pass on its exclusive rights to purchase the team.

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The city’s desire to bring a National Football League team back to Anaheim also complicated its dealings with Disney. At the same time the two sides were trying to close a deal, Seattle Seahawks owner Ken Behring announced that he planned to relocate his team to Southern California next season, possibly to Anaheim.

At a Newport Beach party in his honor last week, Behring spoke effusively of Sportstown and said he would be willing to invest in the project. But the Seahawks owner faces NFL pressure and legal challenges from both Seattle and the state of Washington that would complicate moving his team.

At the same party, Daly asked prominent sports agent Leigh Steinberg to head a committee that will advise the city on how to accomplish its Sportstown vision.

“It’s a novel concept,” said Steinberg, who led a group that tried to keep the Rams in Anaheim. “It hasn’t been done before and that is part of the charm and intrigue.”

Whether or not Disney reemerges as a potential buyer for the team--a subject of wide speculation that is denied by the entertainment giant--the city still needs the Angels’ cooperation to make Sportstown happen.

The Angels’ current lease guarantees 12,500 ground-level parking spaces. Without the team’s consent, it will be at least six years before the city can build on a large portion of the parking lot.

During negotiations with Disney, the city proposed multilevel parking structures. Jackie Autry opposes such structures, contending that fans prefer a flat parking area.

Despite the setback of the Disney deal, city officials and others remain confident that Anaheim’s vision will eventually be realized.

“It will happen,” said Councilman Lou Lopez. “Maybe not tomorrow, but in the next four to six years, it’s going to happen.”

Others still hope that Disney and the Angels can find a way to work things out.

“I think with Disney involved, Sportstown would have a much better chance to succeed with all of their marketing expertise,” said Frank Bryant, president of the NFL Booster Club of Orange County. “I think Sportstown will become a reality with one team. But two teams, one football and one baseball, would be better.”

Times staff writer Chris Foster contributed to this story.

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Oz in Anaheim

Sportstown Anaheim would transform 159 acres of Anaheim Stadium property, and eight acres at the corner of Katella Avenue and State College Boulevard, into a sports, retail and entertainment complex with five components.

1. Gateway District

Towers would mark two major entrances, and a 250-room hotel would overlook a football stadium. Entertainment would include formal dining, food courts, nightclubs, a produce market, coffeehouses and retailers.

2. Little a

Fields for community and sports activities. Also would be used for training camps and league and championship games.

3. Flying A Ranch

Western-themed area would feature walkway between parking lots, Sportstown and The Pond. Plans include retailers, dance halls, dining halls, live theater and a championship rodeo. Site also would be available as a movie set.

4. Orchards District

Orchards would be planted to recall county’s agricultural heritage, and a plantation-style 250-room hotel is planned. The Big A would be redisigned and coupled with the Sports Hall of Fame, live theater, movie theaters and sports-themed restaurants.

5. The A Station

A 19th-century-style transit hub to accommodate Metrolink, Amtrak and a high-speed rail system. Monorail would link Sportstown with Disneyland and Anaheim Convention Center. A 150,000-square-foot exposition center also would be on the site.

Source: city of Anaheim; researched by APRIL JACKSON / Los Angeles Times