News of the Arroyo
Title: | Anaheim plan has detractors |
Subtitle: | |
Date: | 2005-05-12 |
Summary: | May 12, 2005 - Councilman blasts NFL pitch - A grand plan for an NFL Franchise also has detractors who feel taxpayers shouldn't pay for pro football plan. |
Author: | Billy Witz, Staff Writer |
Publication: | Pasadena Star News |
Content: | Wednesday, May 11, 2005 - ANAHEIM -- A grand vision for the future of The City A Mouse Built was laid out Tuesday by impeccably dressed men in dark suits, who detailed a Jetsonsesque transportation center, a community with burgeoning businesses and A- list demographics, and street scenes that would transform Katella Avenue into a grand boulevard akin to Paris\' Champs d\'Elysees or Vienna\'s Ringstrasse. The presentation was an invitation to the NFL, which is looking for a home in Los Angeles, to join the city of Anaheim as it steps into a new world, where development booms and coffers bloom. Tomorrowland? Fantasyland? Alas, the best laid plans of mice and men ofttimes go awry - even in Anaheim. As Mayor Curt Pringle, City Manager Dave Morgan and their consulting teams were concluding an hourlong news conference before nearly 20 reporters and Carson developer Steve Hopkins, another smartly dressed man from the back of the room asked everybody to hold on a minute, that they must hear what the rest of the council has to say. And with that went the meticulously polished plans, Champs d\'Katella and all. Before councilman Harry Sidhu introduced himself - and offered his cell-phone number to everyone in the room - he strode to the podium and declared himself a champion of the people. \"The NFL is more than welcome, but not on the back of the taxpayers,\" Sidhu said. \"I\'d love to have (the NFL) come here, but they\'ve got to pay the price.\" As Sidhu kept talking, he continued to put distance between himself and the city\'s plans, even as Pringle - the former state assembly speaker - used all his considerable political charms to reign him in. Sidhu, who was elected in November, admonished reporters to \"read between the lines\" of the term sheet the city has been negotiating with the league, which he expects to be released soon. He also said the city should take the $150 million he estimates to be the worth of the 35 acres the NFL is eyeing and use it to landscape west Anaheim so it looks like the area around Disneyland. He then criticized the city\'s lease with the Angels, wondering why a stadium and land that\'s worth $600 million is netting Anaheim only $2 million-$3 million per year. \"It\'s a total disaster for the city,\" Sidhu said. Pringle then stepped in to remind everyone that the council had directed staff to pursue a deal only if there is a net benefit for Anaheim. \"Harry is expressing the concerns of the city council,\" Pringle said. When the press conference concluded, Sidhu became even more strident, saying he was \"absolutely\" opposed to any deal with the NFL. In practical terms, Sidhu\'s broadside may be inconsequential. \"I can count to three,\" Pringle said later, noting the number of council votes it takes to approve any measure. \"Everybody\'s solid.\" Indeed, the three other council members - Richard Chavez, Lorri Galloway and Robert Hernandez - all support Anaheim\'s stance with the NFL, although Chavez said, \"Harry and I agree that we don\'t want to spend any public money.\" Galloway and Chavez said the council has not been briefed on details of the negotiations. \"I don\'t think it\'s time to panic and get overly excited about giving the stadium away,\" said Chavez, the vice mayor. \"There\'s a lot of ways to skin a cat.\" Sidhu\'s outspokenness marred what thus far has been a tightly focused pursuit of the NFL by Anaheim, the site many perceive as the cleanest deal. Now Anaheim could be faced with the sort of public squabbles that Pasadena is struggling with and that the NFL would prefer not to see. It certainly wasn\'t what Anaheim officials were expecting when they started their two-pronged presentation. The first part laid out the future of the city\'s adjoining business and tourist areas, one anchored by Disneyland\'s theme parks and the other by Angel Stadium and the Pond. Anaheim, taking advantage of the booming real estate market, is going through dramatic growth in what was until recently a mostly industrial area around the stadium. It is now being transformed into an urban village featuring broad, tree-lined boulevards anchored by retail and high-density housing. Complementing that plan is the Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center (ARTIC) that would have high-speed rail connections to Ontario Airport, Las Vegas and the Bay Area. It would be located between the Pond and Angel Stadium. Anaheim\'s transformation would complement what a NFL owner would be looking for in a location, said sports marketing consultant David Carter, whom the city hired. Anaheim has better development, sponsorship and brand-building opportunities than the Rose Bowl, Carson and Coliseum, he said. Anaheim officials had hoped to paint a compelling picture for NFL owners, who are expected to choose a site or whittle their list of candidates when they meet May 24-25 in Washington. It might have been a pretty picture, but when Sidhu spoke, it was not the happiest place on earth. Billy Witz, (818) 713-3621 billy.witz@dailynews.com |
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