Idea Deserves Sporting Chance : El Toro complex plan flawed but worth thinking about

The idea of building a sports and entertainment complex on the Irvine portion of the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station received a chilly reception last month, just as might be expected. County officials, proponents of an airport, and city officials in Anaheim either were skeptical or opposed. The plan also would include a 3,000-room hotel, the largest in the county, a 350,000-square-foot convention center, and more.

There are reasons why such a plan might not be a good one. Anaheim, for starters, is already well on the road to being the county’s main venue for conventions and sports, with the Disneyland expansion, renewed attention to the convention center, the rebuilding of Anaheim Stadium and the attendant Sportstown development, which includes plans for a 75,000-seat football stadium for an NFL franchise. The county’s other potential convention drawing spot, Huntington Beach, had its own water-front redevelopment proposal floated in recent days.

Courtney Wiercioch, the county’s appointed spokeswoman for issues related to El Toro, described the plan as being generally out of step with the airport idea, and she suggested that any firm or city with an interest in El Toro development would be well advised to contact the county, which has sole planning authority.

The sports proposal deserved to be taken seriously, even though there are sound arguments from a regional point of view for concentrating on Anaheim as the area’s sports and entertainment mecca. One obvious concern is that putting up a football stadium for a few certain dates on autumn Sundays is not by itself a very promising economic engine.

Still, the appearance of such freelance ideas, bubbling up from the grass roots, is the predictable result of the county’s own failure to encourage and entertain alternative proposals to the airport. It is understandable that plans such as a convention and sports complex, or a high-tech center, or a championship golf course, would spring up. The county never has taken seriously much of anything beyond its early commitment to an airport.

Don’t blame the people who are submitting the wild-card entries in the base reuse sweepstakes. Their ideas should be welcomed and examined carefully. To date, the county has limited or avoided meaningful discussion of options. That should change.