Anaheim to Target Rockets

The city of Anaheim will attempt to persuade the Houston Rockets to move to the Arrowhead Pond, Mayor Tom Daly said Thursday.

“We’re interested,” Daly said. “We will be talking to the Rockets.”

NBA Commissioner David Stern said last week the Rockets would leave Houston if the city and team cannot agree on a new arena. George Postolos, the Rockets’ chief operating officer, said the team has talked with several suitors since Houston voters rejected an arena proposal in November.

“We are returning phone calls,” Postolos said.

Postolos said he believes Anaheim is a viable NBA market, but neither he nor Pond General Manager Tim Ryan would confirm whether talks have been scheduled.

“We would welcome any discussions with an NBA franchise, including Houston,” Ryan said.

Stern’s comments startled some NBA observers, given the commissioner’s emphasis on franchise stability. No NBA team has moved since 1985, when the Kansas City Kings left for Sacramento, and Stern has thwarted proposed moves of the Minnesota Timberwolves (to New Orleans) and the Vancouver Grizzlies (to St. Louis).

The Rockets, NBA champions in 1994 and ‘95, play at the Compaq Center, an arena that dates to 1975 and contains few luxury suites and no club seats. Their lease expires in 2003.

If the Rockets leave, Stern said, the chances of Houston gaining an expansion team are “nonexistent.”

“I would be really surprised if they leave Houston,” said Bill Miller, executive vice president of the Leib Group, a Wisconsin sports and entertainment consulting firm. “Stern and the team are turning up the heat in the negotiating process.”

The Rockets met with Houston officials as recently as Tuesday, renewing efforts to secure a new arena there. However, Postolos said, the Rockets can no longer delay talks with other cities.

“We want to resolve our future as soon as we can,” he said. “It takes a long time to plan and build a building. Three years is not a lot of time.”

Postolos declined to specify which cities have courted the Rockets. Officials in Baltimore, Las Vegas, Louisville and New Orleans have publicly confirmed their interest, although only New Orleans has built a new arena.

In Nashville and St. Louis, as in Anaheim, operators of an arena with an NHL team would like to attract an NBA tenant.

The Clippers canceled their annual series of games at the Pond upon moving into the Staples Center this season. The Clippers ranked last in the NBA in attendance last season, averaging 10,262 at the Sports Arena, and rank next-to-last this season, averaging 12,726 at Staples Center.

As part-time tenants in Anaheim, the Clippers averaged 14,830 for 36 regular-season Pond dates from 1994-99.

“If that’s any indication, my gosh, if we got a competitive team, I think there would be tremendous support,” Anaheim City Manager James Ruth said.

Ryan called the Clippers’ games in Anaheim “the most thorough and realistic feasibility study in the history of the NBA.” Pond officials have conducted surveys asking whether sponsors and luxury- and club-seat holders would pay additional thousands of dollars to support an NBA team; Ryan said the answer was an “overwhelming” yes.

Although Ogden Corp., operator of the Pond, is selling its entertainment division, Ryan said he did not believe the sale would preclude the company from negotiating a long-term agreement with the Rockets. No buyer, Ryan said, would likely object to a deal that would fill 41 dates at the arena with NBA basketball.

“Anybody that buys them out would have this as a very high priority,” Ruth said. “It just makes good business sense.”

Tony Tavares, president of Disney’s Anaheim Sports division, has said the company would consider renegotiating its Pond lease so that an NBA team could share more revenue from suites, seats and sponsorships. With the Mighty Ducks losing money, Disney would likely welcome any additional revenue, even if shared with an NBA team.

“If a team has a desire to relocate to Anaheim, a deal could get done relatively quickly,” Ryan said.

The city of Anaheim is obligated to pay Ogden $7.5 million if the Pond does not land an NBA team before 2002. Those payments took effect in 1997, at a rate of $1.5 million per year.

Nonetheless, without the NBA tenant the arena was designed to attract, the Pond still loses money. Ogden reported losses of $4.7 million in the last fiscal year and $29.4 million in the first six years of arena operation.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Clippers at the Pond

1993-94

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Date Opponent Att. Oct. 16 Golden State * 16,967 Jan. 27 New York 17,507

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1994-95

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Oct. 18 Lakers 18,052 Nov. 12 Phoenix 18,018 Dec. 15 Golden State 17,277 Dec. 17 Dallas 17,578 Jan. 21 Sacramento 17,751 Mar. 2 Seattle 17,873 Apr. 1 Utah 18,198

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1995-96

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Oct. 13 Orlando * 12,252 Oct. 25 Phoenix * 10,826 Nov. 16 Vancouver 10,169 Dec. 2 Chicago 18,321 Jan. 20 Utah 14,972 Jan. 27 Seattle 15,081 Feb. 17 Portland 14,312 Feb. 27 San Antonio 14,555 Mar. 14 Dallas 14,452 Apr. 11 Golden State 13,247

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1996-97

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Oct. 22 Philadelphia * 12,368 Nov. 30 New Jersey 11,519 Dec. 16 Phoenix 12,049 Jan. 23 Seattle 16,227 Feb. 2 Lakers 18,462 Mar. 6 Orlando 14,916 Apr. 12 Denver 18,211

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1997-98

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Nov. 3 Phoenix 12,906 Nov. 28 New Jersey 11,030 Dec. 18 Golden State 11,380 Jan. 22 Detroit 12,677 Feb. 3 Utah 13,551 Feb. 19 Miami 13,157 Mar. 12 Lakers ** 18,521 Apr. 18 Golden State 14,257

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1998-99

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Feb. 16 Vancouver 9,626 Feb. 25 Lakers 18,456 Feb. 27 Atlanta 11,563 Mar. 27 Utah 14,293 Apr. 10 Portland 12,853 Apr. 19 Sacramento 10,878

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* Denotes preseason game

** At time, largest crowd ever to watch an NBA game in Southern California

ATTENDANCE TOTALS

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Regular season (36 games) 533,895 Average 14,830 Total (40 games) 586,308 Average 14,658

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