Anaheim Ca Athletics

Irvine Mayor Christina Shea received a curious telephone call last fall. The caller told Shea he represented an NBA team interested in moving to the city, though he declined to identify himself or the team. That unsolicited call, sketchy as it was, resuscitated spirits in the offices of the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim. Tony Guanci, a Newport Beach resident and a sports industry consultant, was the mystery caller.

Disney's lease with Ogden precludes Pond officials from offering a competitive deal to NBA teams that might be interested in moving to Anaheim. The Pond would rate comparatively poorly in arena revenue, a category that generally includes money from luxury suites and club seats, concessions and parking, advertising within the arena and naming rights to the building as well as rights to profit from other events held there.

Ticket prices up? Revolving door for coaches? Mighty Ducks a civic disgrace? Tony Tavares took the heat. But now, he vows, you won't have him to kick around any more. After five years as the stoic face of Disney's professional sports empire, Tavares has kicked himself upstairs. After introducing Pierre Gauthier as the Ducks' president recently, Tavares shuffled to the side of the room and gleefully pointed to him. "There's a new sheriff in town," Tavares said. "Talk to him."

Two years ago, the city of Anaheim appeared to risk losing its baseball team to protect the future of a football team that did not exist. Today, as the baseball team prepares for the grand opening of its renovated ballpark, the city quietly has eliminated a football stadium from its blueprints. During the 1996 negotiations between Disney and the city, Anaheim officials fought fiercely for the right to build a football stadium adjacent to Anaheim Stadium, now Edison Field.

Bill Raue, president of Virginia-based Major League Roller Hockey, which has teams in Canada and England, said the year-old organization has signed several former Roller Hockey International players and intends to establish an eight-team California division with at least one team in Orange County. Long Beach businessman William Clapper, a travel agent for the financially ailing RHI, will control the California division and is exploring putting a team at the Anaheim Convention Center, Raue said.

The professionals--and a handful of celebrities--jumped, turned and splashed their way through a crystal-clear lake Saturday for a national water sports event that was part water spectacle and part carnival. The centerpiece for Jet Jam '97 at the Pond of Anaheim was a 12-million-gallon artificial lake where professional watercraft riders raced slalom and flipped "freestyle" tricks to a T-shirted crowd of thousands. Today is the final day of the three-day event.

"Extreme" water sports will be the attraction as Jet Jam '97 roars ahead on the flooded riverbed next to the Pond of Anaheim. Still, the three-day weekend event's main musical attractions--playing on a stage in the Pond's parking lot, will be mostly mellow, although some extreme moments are likely Saturday and Sunday. Friday's main-stage lineup shapes up as an easygoing one: Willie Nelson, whose hair should be turning orange again given how often he plays O.C., headlines at 6:45 p.m.

Amid the explosions in entertainment jobs, high-tech business and Silicon Valley real estate prices, California is in the throes of another boom: Pro sports stadiums and arenas. Private and public entities in California will be spending more on professional sports venues than on any other single category of local public infrastructure between now and the new millennium. In the Bay Area alone, roughly $1.1 billion in construction and renovation is on the drawing boards.

Juan Botello and Tony Lozano, both 12, were honored by the City Council for their involvement in this year's Willie O'Ree Hockey Tournament in Chicago. The tournament was developed by the National Hockey League and USA Hockey to recognize and celebrate increased diversity in the sport of hockey. Juan and Tony were nominated based on their achievement, attitude and attendance since the program started in 1994, said Dave Wilk, Disney GOALS executive director.

The idea of forming a nonprofit organization to raise money for after-school sports programs at Anaheim campuses received unanimous support from the City Council this week. The Anaheim Prep Sports-Activities Foundation will be a joint venture with the Anaheim Union High School District. The foundation will raise money through the private sector to provide financial support for after-school athletic and other activities at junior high and high schools throughout Anaheim.