Pond, Anaheim Won’t Give Up on NBA Dream

On the day after NBA Commissioner David Stern dampened hope that the league would ever approve a third Southern California franchise at the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim, city and arena officials declared they would not abandon their quest to attract an NBA team to Orange County.

“We’re never going to give up,” Anaheim City Manager James Ruth said. “That just isn’t going to happen. We think NBA basketball in Orange County would absolutely be a winner.”

Ruth and Mayor Tom Daly hope to meet with Stern to present their case for the Pond and to discuss his comments of Wednesday, when he suggested Southern California might be “saturated” with six major league sports franchises, making it difficult for an NBA team in Anaheim to attract corporate sponsorships and media attention.

Pond assistant general manager Mike O’Donnell said he respected Stern’s remarks but did not agree with them, citing the wealthy and growing base of fans and corporations in Orange County.

“We’re going to continue to pursue any opportunity out there,” O’Donnell said. “There is room on all fronts for another team to be successful here.”

The Pond opened in 1993, without the NBA team the arena was designed to attract. The city agreed to pay $7.5 million to Ogden Corp., operator of the Pond, if no NBA team landed in the arena by 2001.

Before Ogden began its pursuit of the Vancouver Grizzlies, Stern met with company executives in New York and gave them his blessing, according to a source close to the negotiations.

However, the Grizzlies believed the NBA would not approve an application to move to the Pond unless the Anaheim bid was demonstrably superior to any other. The Grizzlies narrowed their list of potential homes to four, including the Pond, before applying for permission to move to Memphis, Tenn.

The Charlotte Hornets might move after next season. Voters in Charlotte Tuesday rejected a referendum to finance a new arena.

The Hornets will play in Charlotte next season, and Stern said he hoped the team and city could renew negotiations on a new arena.

The Hornets talked with officials in Memphis and Louisville, Ky., this year, then applied for NBA permission to move to Memphis before withdrawing the application. The Hornets did not talk to Pond officials at that time and had not contacted them this week, though they had remained in touch with representatives from Louisville.