Anaheim Eyes Disney’s Latest Stadium Pitch

ANAHEIM —  The City Council today may decide whether to accept a proposal from the Walt Disney Co. for $100 million in renovations to Anaheim Stadium and a new 30-year lease on the facility, ending weeks of speculation over the future of the California Angels.

“I hope like hell we can move this thing forward,” said Councilman Frank Feldhaus. “We want the deal to go through and have the Angels be here for another 30 years.”

The offer currently on the table is essentially a 70-30 split with Disney picking up the larger portion of the renovation cost, Angels executive Jackie Autry said Wednesday.

“Both sides have tried to be very creative in how they are moving this forward,” said Autry. “I think it’s an extremely fair offer. No owner to date has come up with that kind of money. I’d like to get this settled so the club can move forward.”

Neither city nor Disney officials would confirm the 70-30 split Wednesday, but sources close to the situation said the breakdown is not etched in stone and if Disney were to pay for $70 million in renovations, it would not come cheaply to the city.

There are also reportedly dozens of variables that could change the balance of the deal.

One possibility includes turning operations of the stadium over to Disney in an arrangement similar to The Pond, which is also city-owned but run by a private contractor.

Under that scenario, Disney would pay virtually no rent to the city, which now makes very little profit on the facility anyway. The company could conceivably then be responsible for the cost of most or all of the renovations.

While this would relieve Anaheim of having to pay for the renovations, the city might in turn be asked to give up its portion of parking revenues and other profits that are part of the current lease with the Angels, which expires in 2001, sources said.

Autry said she is not involved in negotiations but has been told that the city has identified $20 million they could spend on the renovations.

Anaheim officials refused to confirm any figures and several members of the City Council said Wednesday that they are unwilling to spend any of the city’s money unless the city could make it up.

“We have to have a way that guarantees we’ll get repaid,” Feldhaus said. “The city is not coming up with $30 million unless [Disney] can identify some payback for us.”

One possibility that has reportedly been discussed is adding a $1 surcharge to admission tickets or parking at the stadium, which could help the city pay for its share of the renovations, sources said.

“The suggestion for a $1 surtax on tickets is a very fair way to go,” Autry said. “That places the cost with the user.”

Councilman Lou Lopez said city leaders are faced with a politically difficult situation as they resume their discussions today in closed session.

“We’re talking about a lot of money, and we have to make some hard decisions,” Lopez said. “For every million dollars we give to Disney, that could be 10 more police officers. We have to look closely at the needs of the city and the citizens.”

Councilman Tom Tait said, “Obviously I’d like to see something work out, and I understand Disney’s need to get a return on an investment. But that doesn’t override my duty to the taxpayers.”

While officials said they would like to see the agreement reached, some said they are ready to move on if it is not.

“I really believe there are other potential owners for the Angels,” said Councilman Bob Zemel. “I don’t believe it’s the end of the world if they walk away. But having them as owners is a tremendous opportunity.”

Disney Sports Enterprises spokesman Bill Robertson said Wednesday that the company has “no comment” on any aspect of the negotiations.

On Jan. 18, the day that Major League Baseball owners approved Disney’s proposal to purchase 25% of the team and assume operational control of the Angels, the company set a 60-day deadline to settle the issue of stadium renovations. If the deadline is not met, Disney has the option of walking away from the purchase.

Disney has dropped its initial estimate for stadium negotiations by $10 million since the talks began. The company has commissioned preliminary designs that call for the Big A to be transformed from a 67,000-seat multipurpose stadium to a more intimate baseball-only facility with about 20,000 fewer seats.

Talks between the Disney and the city have intensified this week.