City vows to entertain other offers if NFL fails to pick site for regional franchise by May 31.
by Sarah Tully
The Orange County Register - Sunday, May 21, 2006
The National Football League may be getting some competition soon.
NFL owners will consider a site - either Anaheim, the Los Angeles Coliseum or both - for a return of a team to the region when they meet Tuesday in Denver. More likely, owners will seek more information on both sites and a decision could come later.
But Anaheim officials plan to stick with their warning that the NFL must settle on the city by Tuesday, or officials will start listening to other developers' proposals for the 53-acre parcel next to Angel Stadium. The city is planning to set priorities for the land next month.
Ideas for the plot range from a hotel or office building to a practice facility for a new NBA team. A broadcast studio or entertainment complex could go in. Developers could link Arrowhead Pond with Angel Stadium, as well as condos, shops and restaurants. The city will keep talking to NFL negotiators, but they will be in line with everyone else.
Some Anaheim residents prefer that the city pursue another development in the Platinum Triangle, where property values are rising as it urbanizes.
When NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue spoke to business leaders last month at the Disneyland Hotel, members of the Orange County Business Council said the NFL could count on their support.
On the west side of town, residents fear the city will give away too much money to lure the NFL - funds that could go to police, roads and parks. Instead, some want the issue to go to the ballot.
"A football stadium doesn't impress me one bit," said Margaret Mueller, 79, who has lived in the city for 47 years.
Councilman Harry Sidhu, a critic of the NFL plan, asked about 50 attendees of a neighborhood meeting if they favored the league moving to the city. About 10 raised their hands. "I'd love to have the NFL come here, but not at taxpayers' expense," Sidhu said. He said the city is offering the land for about half its worth.
Under the city plan, the NFL would pay about $53 million for the plot. About 35 acres can be developed and about 17 are tied up in such things as parking.
A year-old appraisal found the usable land is worth about $1.5 million per acre - a value that likely has climbed.
Two real estate experts said the offering price is about the going rate. Land for office, retail and industrial uses runs about $1 million to $2 million per acre. Residential land sells for a higher price, but homes are forbidden on the plot.
"Its value is based on what can be done on it," said Jerry Giglio of Grubb & Ellis.
Larger plots often sell for less per acre, said Louis Tomaselli, Voit Commercial Brokerage senior vice president.
"It would take a long time to generate any income," Tomaselli said.
The plan also calls for using some property- and sales-tax money generated by the NFL project to pay for infrastructure such as sewers and roads.
Sidhu estimates that could cost the city about $10 million to $15 million a year.
But Mayor Curt Pringle said that figure is inflated. The amount has yet to be calculated. The full deal has yet to be disclosed.