Clippers Give Anaheim a $7.5-Million Question

Less than a month after committing $30 million to help renovate Anaheim Stadium to keep the California Angels in town, the City Council is debating whether to commit $7.5 million in taxpayer money to help lure the Los Angeles Clippers to the Pond, where they would play as the Anaheim Clippers.

The issue is being driven by a sense of urgency that if a National Basketball Assn. team does not begin playing at the Pond by next season, the city will be forced to pay $1.5 million a year to Ogden Corp., operators of the arena, for five years under its lease agreement.

Mayor Tom Daly suggested in an interview Tuesday that the city could use the $7.5 million to contribute to an incentive package to help lure the Clippers. But some members of the City Council aren’t enthusiastic about that concept.

Neither Clipper nor Ogden officials would comment on specifics of the negotiations that would move the team from the Los Angeles Sports Arena to the Pond. But several sources said the discussions involve a 27-year lease, although a provision would allow the team to leave after four years.

City Manager James D. Ruth updated members of the City Council on the negotiations during a closed-session meeting Tuesday. Ruth said he discussed the city’s options but declined to elaborate. Ruth said the matter would be resolved soon.

“We are going to do as much as we can as quickly as we can,” Ruth said. “The city wants to bring closure as quickly as possible.”

The matter could be resolved within the next seven to 10 days.

Daly said a special closed-door session to discuss the Clippers could be called before the council’s next regular meeting on Tuesday.

The mayor was one of the strongest proponents of the recent deal with the Walt Disney Co. that secured the presence of the Angels--to be renamed Anaheim Angels--at the Big A for 20 more years. He wants to add the Clippers to the city’s roster of professional sports franchises, which also includes the Mighty Ducks hockey team.

“Having the NBA in Anaheim on a full-time basis and having Anaheim included in the team name will be good for the arena and for the local economy,” Daly said. “I’m ready to see the Chicago Bulls and the Seattle Sonics and the Boston Celtics coming to Anaheim a couple of times each year.”

Councilman Lou Lopez also favors providing the team with some kind of financial incentive.

“We’re optimistic,” said Lopez, who added that it is his “gut instinct” that the Clippers will indeed make Anaheim their new home, after only flirting with the possibility in recent years.

“They are further than they’ve ever been before,” he said of the Clippers and Pond operators.

But Councilman Frank Feldhaus said that Clipper owner Donald T. Sterling should not need any of the city’s money to help him make up his mind.

“I don’t know why he should have any incentives to come down here,” Feldhaus said. “He’s got all the incentive in the world by doubling his attendance.”

Councilman Bob Zemel said that he would not be surprised if the Clippers used the $7.5 million the city may have to pay Ogden as a bargaining chip in negotiations.

“If I was a sports franchise, I’d use that in the negotiations,” he said.

Zemel said he would like to see the Clippers come to Anaheim, but added that any deal would have to provide the city with a return of investment in order for him to approve it.

“We want NBA basketball here very much,” Zemel said. “This is a city that can support baseball, hockey, football and basketball.”

Councilman Tom Tait declined to comment.

There are three steps that must be taken before the Clippers can move to Anaheim:

* They must reach an agreement with Ogden.

* They must have a lease approved by the Anaheim City Council.

* The move must be approved by the NBA Board of Governors.

Negotiations between the Clippers and Ogden have intensified in recent weeks. The team has notified the Sports Arena of its intent to terminate its lease but has left the door open to return if it is unable to reach agreement with Ogden.

Clipper spokesman Joe Safety declined to comment on the negotiations, saying that to do so would be “premature.”

Brad Mayne, general manager of the Pond, said: “We’re still talking to the Clippers and hoping to come to an agreement that we could bring to the city and the NBA. There is no agreement at this time. As far as discussing specifics or requesting approval from the city, it’s premature.”

Times staff writers Chris Baker and Chris Foster and correspondent Alan Eyerly contributed to this report.