Clippers Inching Closer to Orange County

The Clippers, who are negotiating a move to the Pond of Anaheim, have notified the Sports Arena of their intent to terminate their lease, clearing the way for a possible move to Orange County.

However, Pat Lynch, general manager of the Coliseum-Sports Arena, said the Clippers left the door open to return to the Sports Arena if they are unable to reach an agreement with the Ogden Corp., which manages the Pond.

“We’re going to keep talking,” Lynch said. “It’s not like the Clippers sent us a letter saying, ‘We’re all done.’ It could be interpreted that way, but that’s really not the case. The Clippers would have preferred another extension, but the Coliseum Commission doesn’t meet until [Wednesday].”

The Clippers signed a 10-year lease when they moved to Los Angeles from San Diego in 1984, then signed a three-year extension in 1994 with an option to terminate their lease at the end of each season.

The deadline was May 15 for informing the Sports Arena, but the Clippers received an extension until June 1, then notified the Sports Arena on Saturday of their intent to end the lease.

Sheldon Sloan, a member of the Coliseum Commission, said the Clippers could still return to the Sports Arena if they don’t reach an agreement with the Ogden Corp.

“It doesn’t mean that there won’t be further discussions,” Sloan said. “When you’ve got to make a deal, there’s only so much you can give and we’ve offered that. We’ve tried to work out a long-term deal with them so we can build them a new [arena].”

County Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke, a Coliseum Commission member, said the Sports Arena will probably seek another NBA team if the Clippers leave.

“I think that’s a fair thing to do so that we can start negotiating with another team,” Burke said. “We’ve been moving forward with some specific plans.”

Brad Mayne, general manager of the Pond, said negotiations are continuing with the Clippers.

“We’re as close as we’ve ever been,” Mayne said. “We hope that we can bring this thing to a conclusion and the Clippers will move here to Anaheim.”

The Anaheim City Council will meet tonight and City Manager Jim Ruth will provide an update on negotiations between the city and the team in closed session.

Said Councilman Lou Lopez, “[Ruth] has our guidelines for getting the team here,” adding that he talked to Ruth on Monday morning and was told that “things are looking great, things are moving right along. . . . I’m optimistic that by the summer, we’ll have them here.”

There are three hurdles that must be cleared before the Clippers can move.

They must reach agreement with Ogden to play at the Pond, the lease must be approved by the Anaheim City Council and the NBA Board of Governors must also approve the move.

Although the NBA deadline for franchise shifts was last month, the Clippers are confident they wouldn’t have trouble gaining league approval because the NBA has been pushing teams to upgrade their arenas.

Opened in 1959, the Sports Arena became the oldest NBA arena when Boston Garden closed last year. It lacks amenities of newer arenas, such as luxury suites, premium seating and a video board.

Times correspondent Alan Eyerly contributed to this story.