Heisley Unconvinced Anaheim Is the Place

The owner of the Vancouver Grizzlies is extremely interested in moving his team to Anaheim but has not yet been persuaded the team can be profitable playing there, a colleague said Monday.

Grizzly owner Michael Heisley resumed negotiations Monday with Arrowhead Pond General Manager Tim Ryan and Anaheim City Manager James Ruth, who hope to lure the Grizzlies to Orange County.

“As it is now, it isn’t going to happen,” said Robert McDonough, like Heisley a prominent alumnus and supporter of Georgetown University. “It doesn’t compare to the numbers he gets from the other markets.”

Neither Ryan nor Ruth returned calls for comment. After speaking with Heisley, Ryan flew immediately to New York and plans to huddle today with executives from Ogden Corp., operators of the Pond.

Heisley is scheduled to meet with NBA Commissioner David Stern on Thursday to discuss whether to move the Grizzlies to Anaheim, New Orleans, Louisville, Ky., or Memphis, Tenn. He must file a formal application to move by Monday.

Heisley sits on the board of regents at Georgetown, where the business school is named for McDonough. On Friday, McDonough called Heisley to discuss the possibility of the Grizzlies moving to Anaheim.

“I know he’d like it to happen,” said McDonough, founder and vice chairman of RemedyTemp, a national staffing agency based in Aliso Viejo.

“He told me, ‘If I break even, I’m here. But I don’t see that deal.’ ”

In the other three cities under consideration, Heisley would not share an arena with an NHL team and could control all revenue from luxury suites, club seats, advertising and naming rights. In Anaheim, with the Mighty Ducks already playing in the Pond, Heisley would have to share that revenue with Disney.

Ryan has tried to persuade Heisley that he could make money in Anaheim, citing an affluent base of fans and corporations.