One Rule Overrode All Others: Locals Only

Philip Anschutz owns the Kings. He built Staples Center, and he is the landlord there for the Lakers, Clippers, Sparks and Avengers. He owns four Major League Soccer teams, among them the Galaxy, and he is building the Galaxy its own stadium in Carson, the centerpiece of a sports complex that will include a tennis stadium and numerous recreational facilities.

Anschutz arguably is the most powerful man on the Southern California sports scene. Yet, in a USC study that ranks the most influential sports-business figures in Southern California, he is nowhere to be found.

The study did not consider Anschutz or anyone else who resides outside Southern California. Anschutz lives in Colorado and delegates responsibility for his local sports interests to Tim Leiweke, who serves as president of the Kings, Galaxy, Staples Center and Anschutz Entertainment Group.

“Leiweke is the man driving it at the local level,” said Jeff Marks, leader of the team of USC graduate students that conducted the study. “Anschutz has the power, certainly, but he’s not in L.A.”

Leiweke ranked third in the study, behind Jeff Shell, president of Fox Cable Networks, and Tony Tavares, who oversees the Angels and Mighty Ducks as president of Disney’s Anaheim Sports division.

“There’s definitely a top tier,” Marks said. “That’s the shakeout of the sports industry in Los Angeles--Fox, Disney and Anschutz.”

The study was less concerned with the national and international impact a sports figure might have than with the local impact, particularly in terms of the number of people employed here and the amount of money spent here.

Ellen Oppenheim, general manager of the Los Angeles City Department of Recreation and Parks, ranked fourth in the study. Of the 20 people ranked, she rated lowest in national and international impact but highest in labor impact and among the highest in community impact, as head of a department with 8,500 employees and an annual operating budget of $120 million.

The study excluded athletes and coaches, citing the transient nature of their jobs as minimizing their potential impact on the community.

The most influential figures not only control money and labor, the study found, but develop relationships with each other through media appearances, joint business ventures and service on charitable and corporate boards. As a result, many of these people did not start their careers in sports, an increasingly predictable development as ownership of professional sports teams passes from families to corporations.

Shell, the No. 1 figure, is an MBA and television executive. Tavares, the No. 2 figure, went from a background in arena management to consulting jobs for former King owner Bruce McNall, and then for Disney, his ticket to running the Ducks and Angels.

“Thirty years ago, if you worked in the Dodger organization, you could work your way up,” Marks said. “Now, if you’re going to be president of a sports team and be a mover and shaker in this city, you probably need to come from big business or a major entertainment company.”