Heisley to Visit Anaheim Tuesday

Vancouver Grizzly owner Michael Heisley is scheduled to visit Anaheim Tuesday, the most significant step in five years toward securing an NBA team for the Arrowhead Pond.

Heisley is expected to meet with Anaheim Mayor Tom Daly, City Manager James Ruth and Pond General Manager Tim Ryan. Heisley, searching for a new home for his money-losing team, visited St. Louis and New Orleans this week and Louisville last week.

Andy Dolich, the Grizzlies’ president of business operations, met with officials in New Orleans Friday, one day after concluding a visit to Anaheim. If Heisley wishes to move his team next season, he must apply for NBA permission by Thursday, though a deal need not be completed by then.

The Pond opened in 1993, a $121-million arena with marble on the inside and granite on the outside but without the foundation of an NBA team the building was designed to attract. The NBA has not expanded within the United States since then, and no NBA team has seriously considered moving to the Pond since Clipper owner Donald Sterling rejected a lucrative proposal in 1996.

Chapman University President James Doti, who helped broker the 1996 deal between the city and Disney that anchored the Angels in Anaheim for 20 years, said the Grizzlies would generate at least $100 million in annual economic impact within Orange County. Given the city’s reliance on tourism and its investment in the Anaheim Resort area, as evidenced in substantial public works spending surrounding Disney’s $1.4-billion Anaheim expansion, Doti said city leaders ought to consider modest financial support to help attract the Grizzlies.

“It would be a strategic and visionary investment, not necessarily a subsidy,” Doti said.

The city could, at no extra expense, commit $1.5 million to a Grizzlies’ bid, since Anaheim must pay that amount to Pond management this year so long as the arena lacks an NBA team.

The city provided land to Disney for the construction of Disney ICE in downtown Anaheim, which doubles as a training facility for the Mighty Ducks and a rink for youth leagues and community skating.

Daly said it would be premature to discuss what the city might do for Heisley before meeting with him, but the mayor said the city conceivably could provide land near the Pond for the Grizzlies to build a training facility. The Grizzlies could then include office space and a retail store within the building.

“What I look for in a potential deal are community benefits,” Daly said. “Direct benefits could include jobs, revenues and a ripple effect on local businesses. Indirect benefits could include programs for underprivileged kids, support for after-school programs and community access to professional athletes.”

St. Louis is considered something of a safety valve among Heisley’s options for moving the Grizzlies. Anaheim offers the largest and wealthiest market, but the Ducks’ lease at the Pond forces Heisley to negotiate with Disney to share revenues from NBA games. New Orleans offers a new arena without the need to split revenue with an NHL team, but the median income is relatively low and the corporate base is shrinking. Louisville offers an enthusiastic fan base for what would be the city’s only major sports team, but the media market would be the smallest in the NBA and the city lacks a new arena.