Athletic Facilities

After six decades in baseball's most storied spring home, the Dodgers appear to be headed to the Cactus League. The Dodgers and Chicago White Sox have agreed to share a stadium and training complex in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, with the grand opening targeted for 2009. Tom Lasorda will represent the Dodgers at the official announcement today in Glendale, home of the NFL's Arizona Cardinals and NHL's Phoenix Coyotes.

The timing could not have been much worse for 2016 Olympic bid officials from San Francisco. Hours before the group's scheduled meeting with the U.S. Olympic Committee on Thursday morning, the 49ers halted talks with San Francisco for a stadium project at Candlestick Point, which also was to serve as the city's Olympic Stadium. Fallout from the 49ers' decision, announced late Wednesday, was two-fold: It came close to ending San Francisco's Olympic bid, and created the impression that only two U.

The San Francisco 49ers say they're moving to Santa Clara and by 2012 will make the platinum upgrade from the NFL's worst stadium to its best. All on their dime. Well, something doesn't add up. Just two weeks ago, team owners were told the cost of a stadium in the Los Angeles area could top $1 billion, and that's if construction were to start right away. So how are the 49ers going to bankroll their own venue -- with accompanying commercial complex -- and stay in business?

The Santa Clara 49ers? The Fremont A's? The Bay Area may be known more for its steep hills, cable cars and expansive bridges than its sports teams, but, proving there's a lot more than sourdough at stake, the owner of the San Francisco 49ers announced Thursday he intended to move the team to Santa Clara as soon as 2012.

A 50-acre plot touted as the possible site for a professional football team stadium could instead become home to condominiums, a hotel and low-cost housing units, Anaheim officials said Saturday. The proposal from SunCal Cos. for the Platinum Triangle is one of several the city has received since announcing that after two years of wrangling with the National Football League, it would entertain developers' ideas for the land. Details of other proposals were not made available to The Times.

WILLIE WORTHAM finishes up her set of chest presses and easily glides off the weight machine, ready to tackle another. Told she looks in great shape, with perfect posture and a steady gait, Wortham replies, "Yes, for a 91-year-old lady." At this gym, she doesn't stand out so much as fit in. Nifty After Fifty is a small, independent gym in Whittier specifically for middle-agers and beyond.

With the possibility of an NFL deal fading, Coliseum and USC officials have launched negotiations aimed at securing the school's future role at the stadium. "We are actively discussing with the Coliseum Commission the possibility of a lease," USC Senior Vice President Todd Dickey said Wednesday. "The details we have yet to work out."

The NFL isn't moving quickly on the Los Angeles front, but the cost projections are. The price tag for a new or renovated stadium in the L.A. area could top $1 billion -- more than double the estimates of a few years ago -- team owners were told at their annual fall meetings Tuesday by league staff. That does not include the cost of a team, which could be an additional $1 billion or more. Because there is virtually no public money available for an L.A.

Construction, thy name is Olympics. Those who remember the last-minute dash in Athens in 2004 and recent visitors to 2008 host city Beijing might think that the five Olympic rings represent cranes, forklifts, hard hats, power tools and nuts and bolts. That, thankfully, won't be an area of concern should the Summer Olympics land in Los Angeles for a third time, down the road in 2016.

USC athletic officials said Wednesday they have set aside 1,930 seats for students at the Galen Center, necessitating the use of a still-to-be-determined lottery system for men's basketball games. Jose Eskenazi, an associate athletic director in business development, estimated that an average of 400-500 students attended men's basketball games last season at the Sports Arena. But he acknowledged increased interest in the team's new 10,258-seat home.