Disney Willing to Settle for Less to Get Grizzlies

The Walt Disney Co. and the operators of the Arrowhead Pond are close to reaching agreement on a revised Mighty Ducks’ lease that could help attract the Vancouver Grizzlies to the Pond, sources said Sunday night.

The outline of the new deal is expected to be finalized today and presented to Grizzlies’ owner Michael Heisley when he visits Anaheim on Tuesday. Heisley is considering Anaheim, Louisville and New Orleans as possible homes for his team.

Under the Ducks’ current lease, any NBA team moving into the Pond would not share in revenue from the Arrowhead naming-rights agreement or from almost all advertising within the arena. Disney, owner of the Ducks, also would make money from luxury suites and club seats sold for NBA games.

It is unclear how many millions of dollars Disney is willing to share with the Grizzlies. Any deal would be subject to negotiation within a complex series of discussions that involve the Grizzlies, the NBA, Disney, the city of Anaheim and Ogden Corp., which operates the Pond.

It also is unclear whether Disney’s financial flexibility will be enough to make Anaheim the most lucrative option for Heisley. Although Anaheim offers the largest and wealthiest market, Heisley could control virtually all revenue in a new arena in New Orleans or a proposed new arena in Louisville, since neither city has an NHL team.

Disney negotiated its lease in 1993, when city leaders envisioned an NBA team arriving in Anaheim sooner rather than later and Disney envisioned making a lot more money in the Pond thanks to NBA games. But, after eight years and no NBA team in the Pond, Disney apparently now will settle for making less money off the NBA. Tony Tavares, president of Disney’s Anaheim Sports division, has said that Disney officials “are not acting as obstructionists” to efforts to secure an NBA team for the Pond.

The city is believed to be willing to provide Heisley with a parcel of city-owned land near the Pond, at no cost, to build a training facility for the Grizzlies, pending City Council approval.

If Heisley wishes to move the Grizzlies next season, he must apply to the NBA by Thursday, although the league is considering his request for an extension, the Vancouver Province reported Sunday.