Disney on the Power Play

Trying to restore the pulse to their Mighty Duck franchise, Disney officials said Thursday that General Manager Pierre Gauthier will lose some of his autonomy and the team may consider slashing selective ticket prices.

Disney executive Paul Pressler said Thursday that the Ducks--once extremely profitable with guaranteed sellouts--would reconsider ticket prices after discounts on group sales tickets drove up attendance at two recent games.

He also said that Gauthier would report to the president of Anaheim Sports, when one is hired, instead of directly to Disney officials. An executive vice president will also be hired to handle the business side.

Those are some of the changes Pressler will implement to reinvent the Ducks, who are 14th out of 15 teams in the Western Conference and last in the NHL in attendance. Pressler, who oversees both the Angels and the Ducks, said it is obvious where the work needs to be done.

“It’s clear there is a tremendous level of enthusiasm for the Angels clearly demonstrated in the changes made in the organization,” Pressler said. “On the Duck side, Duck fans are frustrated. We have to address some issues.”

Pressler indicated those issues were on the ice, specifically finding a solution to the team’s woeful power play. Although there has been speculation that Gauthier’s job was on the line, Pressler would not comment on his future except to say that he had “confidence in Pierre.”

However, Gauthier will lose some power when a president for Anaheim Sports is hired. Pressler said that Gauthier and Angel General Manager Bill Stoneman would report to the new president, who will report to Pressler.

“We’re clearly looking for someone with experience and knowledge to lead [Anaheim Sports],” Pressler said. “Someone to be very involved in community, that will be a critical component. Someone with a little good luck.”

The Ducks are a better team this season, but there was nowhere to go but up after finishing last in the conference a year ago. What hasn’t improved is attendance at the Arrowhead Pond.Season ticket holders are dwindling and team sponsors are concerned. Disney officials won’t reveal exact figures, but the season-ticket base is believed to be around 8,000, down from the 14,000 it was during the 1995-96 season. This season, most games attracted about 5,000-6,000 fans.

But there was a spike in attendance at two recent games, attributed to the slashing of ticket prices for group sales.

The Ducks sold $75 tickets for $50, $32.50 seats for $16.25 and $27 seats for $13.50. There are two more reduced-price games on the schedule, including Fan Appreciation Night--a game the team has never failed to sell out.

“Once you start cutting ticket prices, you have devalued your franchise,” one NHL team official said.

Whether this will lead to overall price cuts is to be seen.

“We’ll got through it at the end of the year,” Pressler said. “We’ll have an evaluation, given where we are today. We’ll look at the kind of group sales, which we do every year. But we have been pretty aggressive the last couple weeks.”

Pressler did not rule out that whoever is hired as president might also buy Disney’s two teams. Dave Checketts, who operated the New York Knicks and New York Rangers as president of Madison Square Garden, has surfaced as a possible candidate for president.

Checketts has also fronted a group of wealthy investors in attempts to buy the Boston Red Sox and Orlando Magic.

“Anything is possible,” Pressler said. “As we have said, if someone was interested, our responsibility to our shareholders would be to review it. At the same time there is no activity from us looking. In the meantime, we will operate these teams like we are going to own them forever.”

There are fans who may not like hearing that, andmany have made their opinions known via e-mails, Pressler said.

“Disney is the owner and that is ultimately where responsibility lies,” Pressler said. “I do think we have in place resources, with Pierre and [Coach] Bryan Murray, to get the job done. Like most owners, we rely on their judgment to go out to make the right trades.”