Haggling Over L.A. Arena Isn’t Something to Build On

King President Tim Leiweke returned to his office at the Forum on Tuesday afternoon to find his staff members wondering if they could finally open the champagne that has been aging, and aging, and aging.

Leiweke had to tell them the time for celebration had instead been spent fighting City Hall.

“Now that it looks like we’re going to get approval for the arena,” he said, “all we have to do is design it, build it and pay for it. Normally, that’s the hard part.”

But there has been nothing normal about negotiations for the $300-million, 22,000-seat downtown arena that seemed destined to succeed more than a year ago but destined to fail on many occasions since.

Now, finally, it appears after Tuesday’s vote by the Los Angeles City Council that the Kings and Lakers will have a new home by the start of their 1999-2000 seasons.

Councilman Joel Wachs declared victory after eliminating all but about $70 million in public funds, $58 million of which must be repaid by King owners and developers Philip Anschutz and Ed Roski. But Wachs also should hesitate before reaching for the champagne.

He almost single-handedly obstructed an arena deal for the city that was one of the best in the country even before he began to squeeze.

I say that based on a study conducted in March for the L.A. Convention and Visitors Bureau by professor Mark S. Rosentraub, who has found most partnerships between cities and wealthy sports owners so unfavorable to taxpayers that he titled his book on the subject, “Major League Losers.”

In this arena deal, however, he declared Los Angeles a winner.

“We need to insure that the success in Los Angeles becomes a model for the nation and not an example of a lost investment even after taxpayers were completely protected,” he wrote in a letter last month to Wachs.

Wachs persisted and won, guessing correctly that Anschutz and Roski were eager enough to build downtown that they would accept his terms.

But his message to other entrepreneurs, including those who might want to bring an NFL team here, is that Los Angeles is not an inviting place to conduct business.

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Anschutz’s team can now focus on winning a championship. . . .

No, not the Kings. . . .

His Colorado Rapids meet D.C. United in Washington on Sunday for the MLS title. . . .

Tracy Byrd celebrates her promotion to the undercover vice squad with the Flint (Mich.) Police Department by defending her International Female Boxing Assn. lightweight title Friday night on pay-per-view against Bethaney Payne. . . .

Byrd’s father, Joe, was coach of the 1992 U.S. Olympic boxing team, which included her brother, middleweight silver-medalist Chris. . . .

Asked by KIEV’s Irv Kaze whether horses know they’re about to run in important races, Silver Charm trainer Bob Baffert said his do because he wears a coat and tie for special occasions. . . .

Jenine Sahadi, who doesn’t, last year became the first woman trainer to win a Breeders’ Cup race. She will have two entries in this year’s Breeders’ Cup on Nov. 8 at Hollywood Park. . . .

But her favorite horse, Megans Interco, runs Saturday at Santa Anita. The 8-year-old gelding is seeking an unprecedented fourth California Cup victory. . . .

The figure skating season officially opens Thursday with the start of Skate America in Detroit. Tara Lipinski and Michelle Kwan meet in a preview of February’s Winter Olympics. . . .

One of the last times a major figure skating competition was held in Detroit, Nancy Kerrigan was clubbed. . . .

Now she’s involved in another battle. On Saturday night at Las Vegas’ Thomas & Mack Center, she’s competing in Fox Sports’ “Battle of the Sexes.” . . .

It’s Kerrigan’s second competition since she had a son, Matthew Eric Solomon, in December. . . .

Philadelphia Eagle quarterback Rodney Peete, formerly of USC, is back in Los Angeles with his wife, actress Holly Robinson, who gave birth to twins Monday. . . .

Former UCLA All-American David Greenwood has returned to his high school, Verbum Dei, to coach basketball. . . .

The designated hitter is OK, but it’s not natural when announcers at a baseball game have to wear gloves.

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While wondering if the new arena can do for downtown L.A. what Jacobs Field did for Cleveland, I was thinking: I’m pretty sure I know one name not under consideration if Kerrigan’s firstborn had been a girl, I still like the red, white and blue basketball, I hope Lucy Lawless sings the national anthem before tonight’s game between the Ducks and Detroit Red Wings.