Clippers End Talks, Will Stay in L.A.

The Clippers, who had considered moving to the Pond of Anaheim, announced Thursday that they have ended negotiations with the Ogden Corp., the firm that operates the Orange County arena, and will remain at the Sports Arena.

“We are grateful and extremely flattered that such interest was accorded our organization,” Andy Roeser, Clipper executive vice president, said in a statement. “However, we have decided that in the best interest of the franchise, the Clippers intend to continue playing at the Los Angeles Sports Arena. We will continue to pursue new arena options in metropolitan Los Angeles.”

According to highly placed NBA sources, Clipper owner Donald T. Sterling rejected a 12-year package worth $95 million to move to Anaheim.

The Clippers would have received $48 million in tax incentives from Anaheim over the life of the contract. In the first year, they would have been given $4.5 million in cash, followed by $5 million the next year, $5.5 million the third year, then three years at $6 million each.

There was to have been a $10-million loan, plus $2 million for new locker rooms and $2 million more for new offices at the Pond.

It was understood that Sterling, who lives and works in Beverly Hills, felt good about both Anaheim and Ogden but in the end simply wanted to stay in Los Angeles, were he grew up.

The Clippers, who have played 15 regular-season games in Anaheim over the last three seasons, plan to play six regular-season games and one exhibition at the Pond in 1996-97.

Pat Lynch, Coliseum/Sports Arena general manager, was elated that the Clippers have decided to remain at the Sport Arena, where they have played since moving from San Diego in 1984.

Lynch hopes to build an $84-million to $90-million state-of-the-art arena seating 18,700 in the parking lot just south of the Sports Arena, the oldest facility now used by an NBA club. The new arena would include 84 luxury suites, 1,100 club seats and a practice facility, like America West Arena in Phoenix, home of the Suns.

But a new arena is a long way from reality.

The Coliseum Commission must first secure a new lease with the state, which owns the land under the Sports Arena and Coliseum. The current lease, which expires in 2005, doesn’t include the land where the new arena is planned.

“We’ve got the plans done, we’ve got the architectural rendering, and we’ve got the cost estimates,” Lynch said. “But we have a lot of work to be done. We have to secure financing, which is the next big step after the land lease.”

The Clippers, who terminated their Sports Arena lease, must also sign a new lease with Sports Arena. They signed a 10-year lease after moving here in 1984, then signed a three-year lease in 1994 with the option to terminate at the end of each season.

“Now we’ll have to sit down and talk about a new lease,” Lynch said. “But hopefully that won’t take long because we went through this process last season.”

The Clippers’ announcement was a major blow to Anaheim officials, who were confident of securing the NBA franchise.

“There was a tremendous amount of effort and energy that was put into the attempt to bring the team down here,” City Manager James D. Ruth said. “Ogden thought they were very close to a deal. There would have been a lot of direct and indirect benefits to the community.”

Times Sports Editor Bill Dwyre and staff writer Greg Hernandez contributed to this story.