Anaheim Boasts Lead as Arena Design Unveiled : Development: ‘It’s impossible to catch up to us now’ in facility race, Mayor Fred Hunter declares.

ANAHEIM —  An architect’s rendering of the city’s 20,000-seat, $85-million proposed arena was unveiled Tuesday, prompting Mayor Fred Hunter to say that Anaheim has an insurmountable lead over Santa Ana in the race to build a major indoor sports facility.

“It’s impossible to catch up to us now,” Hunter said at a City Hall press conference.

The plans by the Los Angeles architectural firm of Howard, Needles, Tammen & Bergendoff include 80 luxury suites, 2,500 VIP seats--complete with food and drink service--and a large covered outdoor waiting area for fans who may arrive before the doors open.

“It’s dynamite,” Hunter said. “I think they’ve come up with a good design that will be very impressive.”

Anaheim officials renewed their pledge to break ground by January, with the opening for professional hockey or basketball by October, 1991.

In addition, officials announced that the first municipal bonds, totaling nearly $28 million, to finance the arena had been sold Tuesday. Further, the sales were made at such a good rate that the city will gain about $270,000 in interest savings, they said.

One issue, for $18.7 million, was sold at 9.16% interest, and the other, for $8.2 million, went at 7.6%, they said. Both were sold to the brokerage firm of Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith.

Meanwhile, city officials continue to negotiate for additional land for parking, as well as for a professional basketball or hockey team to play at the arena.

According to a consultant’s report, the Anaheim arena could operate 162 days a year, including 45 for basketball games and 40 for concerts. The report made no estimate for hockey play. An average of 34,942 people per week would attend functions including feature family shows, circuses and tennis and boxing matches, the report says.

Parking for 2,900 vehicles would be provided on 17 acres along the Santa Ana River east of the arena, and another 1,200 spaces would be south of Katella Avenue near Anaheim Stadium.

The 100-foot-high arena would cause no major environmental problems, although nearby residents may object to its presence, as well as to the noise and traffic it could generate, according to an environmental report released Nov. 3.

The Phoenix Club, a German-American social group, and the Christian Co. Inc., a wholesale roofing business, now occupy the site. City officials have agreed to pay $8 million for the Phoenix Club’s 7.6-acre parcel near Anaheim Stadium on Douglass Road, north of Katella Avenue. Negotiations continue for the adjacent Christian Co. land.

Santa Ana still has not completed its environmental report on an identical indoor sports arena there.

Anaheim and Santa Ana hope that building an arena will lure a professional basketball or hockey franchise.

Backers of both plans concede that only one of the cities is likely to obtain a pro team, which experts consider essential if either arena is to be profitable. However, Anaheim officials recently vowed to build their arena regardless of whether Santa Ana does.