First Things First at the Big A

The announcement last month that the city of Anaheim and the Walt Disney Co. had broken off discussions on a deal to keep the Angels at Anaheim Stadium seemed to have the effect of a splash of cold water on both parties. For the two, which have benefited from their long relationship, it became clear there would be no winners if the Angels pack their bags.

It is encouraging that cool heads have prevailed and the discussions have resumed. Last week, Tony Tavares, president of Disney Sports Enterprises, announced that the company and the city had reopened their talks. City Manager James D. Ruth said there was some “movement on both sides,” though no details were revealed. This time, let’s hope all parties are more realistic about the art of the possible.

From the start, Disney seemed to be inviting complications in tying its negotiations with Anaheim to its proposed operational control and purchase of 25% of the Angels from owner Gene Autry.

Asking something from a city is not unusual in a day when many municipalities across the country have invited sports teams to all but write their own tickets for sharing stadium revenues. However, Anaheim’s mindfulness of the public coffers is proper, especially in light of the Orange County bankruptcy. With taxpayers concerned about the prospect of a giveaway to a sports franchise, it would be asking a lot of the city, a third party to the deal, to fall in line.

Anaheim, meanwhile, may have been putting a few carts before its own horses--looking ahead to the future benefits of a sports complex that has no investors. The dream of luring a professional football team is attractive, but as a practical matter it doesn’t seem likely soon.

The team that all parties can and should put in the counting house at Anaheim Stadium is the Angels. That’s the deal that needs to be completed. In fact, the parties earlier had a tentative agreement on how to share the cost of renovation of the Big A, which would seem to be a more formidable obstacle than what the city would like to do in the stadium environs.

Anaheim should continue to protect its own financial interest and planning vision and not succumb to excessive dreaming. Let the future arise naturally from securing the valued baseball franchise, which, after all, represents the here and now.