ANAHEIM IS SPURNED BY CLIPPERS : STERLING OPTS TO KEEP NBA CLUB PLAYING IN SPORTS ARENA.

Byline: Scott Wolf Daily News Staff Writer

The Clippers' flirtation with Orange County ended abruptly Wednesday, when the team terminated talks with the company that runs Anaheim Arena and announced it will return to the Sports Arena next season.

After weeks of negotiations with representatives of Ogden Entertainment Group, and amid signs of an impending deal, Clippers owner Donald T. Sterling decided to remain in the city in which he was reared.

``In order to quell further speculation and to provide a clear sense of finality, we are today announcing that talks between the Clippers and Ogden Corp. have been formally terminated,'' Clippers executive vice president Andy Roeser said in a prepared statement.

``. . . We have decided that in the best interest of the franchise, the Clippers intend to continue playing at the Los Angeles Sports Arena. We will continue to pursue new arena options in metropolitan Los Angeles.''

According to several sources, Sterling nixed the deal Wednesday afternoon.

`We hadn't written them off,'' Sports Arena general manager Pat Lynch said. ``We were hopeful. We feel this is a special opportunity for us. It's as tough as it's gotten for them to make a decision.''

The announcement seemed to surprise Anaheim officials. The Anaheim City Council was prepared to call a special meeting Monday to evaluate the Clippers' talks with Ogden.

``I don't know where the talks broke down,'' city council member Bob Zemel said.

Ogden had offered to lease the Clippers from Sterling for 27 years, in exchange for $4 million per season. Sterling would have remained owner, but Ogden would take over day-to-day operations. Sterling also had an escape clause after four years.

The city council was also considering adding another $1.5 million to the deal. If Anaheim Arena has no NBA tenant by next season, the city must pay Ogden up to $1.5 million a year for the next five years.

``No formal offer was given to us,'' Zemel said. ``Ogden gave Disney the store (with the Mighty Ducks lease), so a second team can't come in.''

The Mighty Ducks control all luxury suite and advertising revenue inside Anaheim Arena, an issue the Clippers previously mentioned as a drawback for moving south.

But Ogden's creative leasing arrangement led talks to progress to a more serious point than ever before.

Roeser had worked almost nonstop recently trying to hammer out a deal with Ogden representatives. But Sterling, who controls more than $1 billion in assets, wanted out even before waiting to hear if the Anaheim City Council was willing to add the extra $1.5 million.

``I think Donald probably still prefers Los Angeles,'' said Richard Brown, a friend of Sterling's and former president of the Angels. ``. . . I don't know if Donald is that economically driven.''

Ironically, the Clippers must now negotiate a new lease with the Sports Arena, because they terminated the existing one last weekend, when the Coliseum Commission was unable to grant an extension on short notice.

Lynch said the Coliseum Commission must re-new its land lease, because the property is owned by the state, and then obtain financing to move forward on a new arena.