O.C. Pro Sports Teams Play an Irksome Waiting Game : Negotiations: Turmoil surrounding baseball and hockey may fade into memory--along with the Rams.
ANAHEIM — Not so long ago, the worst thing that could happen to professional sports in Orange County was to have a losing team--and goodness knows there have been plenty of those.
But in 1994, instead of simply watching a team lose, Ram fans worried about losing a team.
And what’s worse than reading about the Angels being mired at the bottom of the American League West, or the Mighty Ducks struggling just to score a goal? Reading about antitrust exemptions and 122% salary-tax rates after labor disputes shut down seasons, that’s what.
Face it, the year in sports was so bad that visits by the lowly Los Angeles Clippers basketball team were good news.
And 1995? The face of sports in Orange County might be almost unrecognizable (Who are those guys in the Angels’ uniforms?) or it could return to the familiar--though expecting the Rams to stay and baseball and hockey to return to status quo is no longer very realistic.
Pro sports in Orange County are in a period of “unbelievable turmoil,†said Tony Tavares, president of Disney Sports Enterprises, which owns the Ducks.
Will the Rams stay or go? Will the Mighty Ducks play--or no? And will the real Angels take the field in April, or will a bunch of has-been and never-were replacement players be wearing their uniforms?
“Some major decisions have to be made within a 90-day period that could determine the entire outlook for pro sports in Orange County in the next decade,†said John Nicoletti, spokesman for The Pond.
The city of Anaheim has been hit with a triple-whammy--one team trying to move and two mired in the worst labor disputes in the history of sports. Mayor Tom Daly says he remains “bullish†on Anaheim’s future as a home for pro sports. But Richard Brown, president of the Angels, looks at the scene and sees “the worst nightmare†for city officials.
“They have to be looking at each other thinking, ‘Is this as bad as it gets or does it get worse?’ â€
As the new year approaches, one of the quicker resolutions could come in hockey.
A last-minute settlement in the National Hockey League labor dispute could put the Ducks back on The Pond within weeks. If so, count on the remarkably undemanding Duck fans--and the wizardry of rookie Paul Kariya--to fill all 17,174 seats with regularity.
But, if the bullheadedness doesn’t end soon, the NHL will become the first major North American pro sports league to cancel an entire season because of labor problems. If that happens, in the words of one partisan, Duck Coach Ron Wilson: “We’re looking at a nuclear winter.â€
Disney, which made a remarkable $9-million profit on the Ducks in their start-up year, would probably lose about $6 million on the team if there is no hockey this season--a $15-million swing.
Nevertheless, Tavares says “we are committed to this marketplace,†and he is convinced Duck fans (and T-shirt customers) will come back with enthusiasm whenever hockey returns.
“I think we’re Americans, and Americans by nature are worried about today, what’s going on at the moment,†Tavares said. “They have very little regard for negotiations and renegotiations. We’re going through problems, and people are angry. I’m not trying to diminish what they feel, but to me it’s short-term anger. I think the baseball fans have short-term anger too. Two years from now, people won’t remember all this--until we get another fiasco.â€
Baseball entered the most uncertain period in its history last Thursday when owners unilaterally implemented a salary cap. Now the game moves from the field to the courts.
If there’s no settlement nor court injunctions, Angel Manager Marcel Lachemann could be hitting fungoes to a bunch of strangers when spring training opens in February at Tempe Diablo Stadium in Arizona.
One odd twist is the theory that replacement players might actually make the Angels more competitive instead of 90-game losers.
Think of it, the Chicago White Sox without Frank Thomas, the Toronto Blue Jays without Joe Carter. That levels the playing field for the budget-oriented Angels, who might have another edge at plucking strike-breakers because of their location in the baseball belt. The assorted alumni of Cal State Fullerton and various community colleges sprinkled with a few retired professional players wouldn’t make the worst team.
“I don’t know what we’ll be playing with, it’s too early to speculate,†said Brown, the team president. “We’re in a situation unlike any other I’ve ever been in. We can’t do a whole lot of preparation. The most logical thing you can do is prepare as if it will be a normal season.â€
The Angels might not be hurt at the gate as much as some people imagine. For one thing, attendance was already low last season, an average of 24,010 a game. An Associated Press survey recently found that 51% of fans would attend the same number of games even if baseball fields teams with replacement players. In Anaheim, where a sizable chunk of the summertime crowd is made up of tourists, the figure might be higher.
Bleak as it all seems, the Angels’ long-term future is actually brightening. Negotiations between the Angels and the city of Anaheim to build a baseball-only stadium by the 1998 season are ongoing--though the county’s budget crisis has put the talks on what is so far being described as a temporary hold.
Furthermore, once the labor dispute is resolved, the Angels might be more willing to compete financially. For one thing, all 28 teams will be operating with a new set of rules. But more important, the introduction of a minority owner--former baseball commissioner Peter Ueberroth is among the contenders--will mean a new direction and an infusion of cash.
As for the Rams, even if they announce shortly that they are signing a deal to move to St. Louis, the suspense won’t be over. Any agreement will be contingent on several provisions--almost like a buyer’s offer on a home depends on financing or the results of an inspection. Ram fans and the city of Anaheim will probably remain in limbo for months as they await the outcome of potential lawsuits or other legal wrangling. Plus, the move would have to receive approval from the NFL’s other owners in March--and that’s no cinch.
If Orange County does end up without an NFL team, it’s not likely to be without pro football for long--unfortunately for NFL fans, it might be in the form of the Canadian Football League or arena football.
But before then there might be all sorts of maneuvers. L.A. Raiders owner Al Davis, known for his attempts to play cities against each other, won’t be quiet, rest assured, once he has the only NFL team in the nation’s second-largest television market.
And it’s not beyond the imagination that Walt Disney Co.--which has never hidden its desire to expand its involvement in pro sports and has tested the waters at the NFL by making inquiries--might take advantage of the situation and undercut Davis by showing interest in owning an NFL expansion team.
It might not matter that the NFL has no expansion plans and has rules against corporate ownership. Having some leverage against Davis would delight the NFL--and as Disney showed when it swept in and brought the Mighty Ducks to Orange County in a quiet deal that slipped underneath almost everyone’s radar, the entertainment giant’s dollars and marketing muscle are capable of grabbing a sports league’s attention. So the current stadium’s not good enough? That $203 million Disney Chairman Michael Eisner made one year would build one.
As for the chances that Disney embarks on another major sports venture in Anaheim in the next five years, Tavares says only, “I think those are relatively high . . . if the right opportunity presents itself. Timing is everything in life.â€
While two of pro sports’ major leagues are in disarray as owners and players wrestle over economic control, a quieter revolution has taken place in the minor leagues and lesser-known sports. Roller hockey and indoor soccer might be derived from more traditional games, but they find their audience--and it’s an audience of families who have been driven away from the big leagues by high ticket prices.
The Splash, an indoor soccer franchise whose most expensive ticket next season will be $12, averaged close to 5,000 fans at The Pond this summer during its first season. By the last five games of its 20-8 season, the team was drawing more than 7,000 a game.
“For a family of four to come to a live, professional sporting event for as little as $16, I don’t see how we can go wrong next year,†said Tim Ryan, general manager of the team, owned by Ogden Facility Management, which operates The Pond.
The Salsa, an outdoor soccer team that plays at Titan Stadium in Fullerton, also has a top ticket price of $12 and drew an average of 3,572. For an Oct. 2 American Professional Soccer League semifinal game against Montreal, 5,623 filed into the stadium.
The Anaheim Bullfrogs, a Roller Hockey International team that plays in The Pond, lost in the league semifinals this season after winning the championship in their first year. They also led the league in attendance with an average of 9,885.
With success stories like that, indoor lacrosse could be The Pond’s next tenant.
About the only “small-time†pro teams in Orange County that aren’t thriving are the Newport Beach Dukes, a TeamTennis franchise whose future is uncertain after drawing crowds of fewer than 1,000, and a poorly publicized women’s indoor pro volleyball team.
“I think people are always looking for something new and fun, especially in Southern California, and if you can offer exciting sports--and probably most importantly, entertainment value for the dollar--I think the fans will support your franchise,†said Nicoletti, who is spokesman for the Splash as well as The Pond.
“I’ve been personally saying for years that the face of sports in Southern California might be changing. Watching the franchises in the L.A. area, the facilities where they play and the ownership of the teams in the last five years has been, you know . . . interesting. “
Times staff writers Mike DiGiovanna, Martin Henderson, Mike Itagaki, Dave McKibben and Jason Reid contributed to this story.
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