Zodiac President Optimistic That Pond Will Host Soccer

The Zodiac and the Arrowhead Pond have yet to reach agreement for an indoor soccer team to play at the arena this summer, but the president of the Zodiac nonetheless will pitch the idea to the Premier Soccer Alliance at league meetings next week in Las Vegas.

“I’m optimistic we can come to an agreement,” Zodiac President Richard Brown said. “The league has been more than accommodating, because they definitely want us in there. We’d be one of the jewels of the league, if not the jewel.”

Brown and Mike O’Donnell, assistant general manager of the Pond, each said negotiations should conclude by Feb. 1. The league has extended its Dec. 1 application deadline to accommodate the prospective Anaheim franchise.

“As long as they can give us a date in a timely fashion, we can work with them,” league consultant Don Shapiro said.

The Pond needs sports tenants to fill the slow summer season. However, in the wake of the approximate $80,000 debt left behind by roller hockey’s Bullfrogs, Pond officials demand assurances the Zodiac can meet financial obligations and can provide full-time management for the indoor team instead of simply sharing a staff with the Zodiac. The rental fee, perhaps the most critical issue, remains unsettled despite two months of negotiations.

The Zodiac, the top minor-league affiliate of the Galaxy, plays a spring/summer schedule at Santa Ana Stadium. The indoor team, likely to be known as the Splash, would play a summer/fall schedule at the Pond.

The indoor league made its debut last summer, with teams in Dallas, Phoenix, Portland and Sacramento, and already has added teams in Houston and Monterrey, Mexico. At the Las Vegas meetings, the league plans to discuss expansion to as many as three more cities, including Anaheim, before the 1999 season starts in July.