‘99 Arena Opening Called Unlikely

Developers of a proposed downtown sports arena said Monday that their planned September 1999 opening of the facility seems increasingly unlikely, given the lengthy negotiations with Los Angeles city officials and the steps remaining before they know for certain whether they have a deal.

“That date is starting to look a little difficult,” said attorney George Mihlsten, lead negotiator for arena developers, Kings hockey team owners Edward P. Roski and Philip Anschutz.

It has been nearly three months since the City Council gave tentative approval to a proposal to build a privately owned and operated sports and entertainment complex on city-provided land at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The $200-million complex would house the Kings and the Lakers basketball team for 25 years.

Arena proponents expect that the complex would spur a revitalization of Los Angeles’ long-stagnant downtown area, but critics have said they want assurances that taxpayers’ costs--about $70 million in bonds to acquire and prepare the land--will be fully reimbursed.

Developers recently agreed to levy a fee on tickets that would bridge the gap between the tax revenues that the arena would generate and the cost of repaying the bonds. The city has agreed to give developers title to adjacent land much earlier in the deal and to help shoulder the cost of any needed environmental cleanup.

Mihlsten, who, along with two members of the city’s negotiating team, met Monday with Times editors and reporters, said he believes that the City Council is close to signing off on the business deal but predicted that it will be several months before developers know for certain whether they can proceed.

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Last week, the City Council, meeting in closed session, got its first update on the negotiations since directing that talks begin in earnest in mid-September. At that session, city negotiators gave lawmakers a detailed memo listing 10 areas of possible risk or other issues.

City negotiators said they believe that those issues have been answered but that some additional ones had surfaced, including a desire for assurances about the two teams’ commitments to use the facility.

The council will meet again this week, and City Administrative Officer Keith Comrie, who attended the meeting, said a proposed “memorandum of understanding” between the city and developers could be ready for public circulation and comment early next week.

Mihlsten characterized the memorandum of understanding as “the critical document” in the deal. But he said it will take several months longer for other necessary documents to be prepared and executed, including an environmental impact report, an agreement with the Community Redevelopment Agency and a city conditional use permit.

“At any time during that period, either party can walk from the deal,” Mihlsten said. He declined to comment on the prospects for Inglewood, which is vying for the Kings to build their arena in Hollywood Park. That would keep the teams in that city.

Arena developers have said they want to break ground by September.