Anaheim wants to turn over management of the Arrowhead Pond to a company created by Henry Samueli, the high-tech billionaire who once tried to buy the Angels and the Mighty Ducks, city officials announced Friday.
If approved by the City Council on Tuesday, the deal with Samueli's newly formed Anaheim Arena Management would keep the city-owned arena's existing staff and create no extra risk for the city, officials said. Some wonder if it could even lead to something the city has long wanted: an NBA franchise.
"This is someone with demonstrated interest in franchise ownership getting into the venue management business," said David Carter, a principal of the Los Angeles-based Sports Business Group. "Does that potentially make them interested in the Ducks? Does it put them in play for an NBA team? Is this just the first domino for him and his partners to knock over in Orange County?"
Michael Schulman, managing director of H&S Ventures, the company that coordinates the Samueli family's charitable work and private investments, said the firm has no interest in buying the Ducks, an NHL franchise for sale by its founding owner, the Walt Disney Co.
Basketball, however, remains a top goal, though no one would say if Friday's announcement was a preliminary step in that direction.
"I think everybody believes the NBA belongs in this building," Anaheim City Manager Dave Morgan said. The Pond's general manager, Tim Ryan, agreed: "We're going to continually pursue every lead."
The city has also been focused on developing an 807-acre area around Arrowhead Pond and Edison Field that the city has dubbed the "Platinum Triangle." They envision shops, offices and luxury apartments similar to the area surrounding San Francisco's Pacific Bell Park.
Finding a new management company and ensuring financial stability has been part of that plan since the current manager, Covanta Energy, declared bankruptcy last year. The company, formerly called Ogden Entertainment, has lost money on the Pond for years.
"We want to be in a position to build toward the future," Mayor Curt Pringle said. "There's so many opportunities for what can take place here."
To make that happen, the city needs a "quality partner," he said.
But for now, city officials, Pond management and Samueli's representatives said their focus is completing the deal, which would transfer the contract from Covanta to Anaheim Arena Management. After the City Council vote, a Bankruptcy Court also must approve it.
