Local teams scout around for new southland sports venue.

Prospects fade for Clippers basketball arena in Burbank

After nearly two years of negotiations, plans for a major sports arena in Burbank, to be the new home for the Los Angeles Clippers basketball team, appear all but dead.

"Comatose might be the word," commented Burbank City Manager Bud Ovrom, "with very weak vital signs. ... I think it's just fading away."

Developer Lew Wolff, whose Wolff Rogers Partnership has one year left on a three-year exclusive right to negotiate to build the arena (granted by the city in January 1992), agreed that the chances of the 20,000-seat facility being built look quite bleak now.

"Everybody sort of got turned off," said Wolff. "I was with the Clippers the other day. ... I asked them, 'Should I just forget it?' They said, 'No.' But it's kind of hard not to."

Also involved in the negotiations have been Wolff's partner -- actor and financial adviser Wayne Rogers -- and Warner Bros., which would have operated the arena, hosting other entertainment events when the Clippers weren't playing there.

The Warner Bros. Arena was to have been situated on Lockheed Corp. property near the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport. Warner Bros.' Senior Vice President Dan Garcia could not be reached for comment.

Lockheed also is negotiating with various developers about selling a large chunk of its airport property for development of a major retail "power center."

Ovrom said he still expects a retail developer to be selected by the end of the year, with the property changing hands in 1994 -- despite continuing concerns about toxic contamination.

With the Burbank arena project almost forgotten, sports facility attention is focused on proposals for a new arena in downtown Los Angeles.

Catellus Development Co. has long been interested in including an arena in its Union Station development. Catellus has had preliminary discussions with sports teams other than the Clippers in recent months, said Catellus Vice President Steve Hess, but he would not identify the teams.

One possible tenant for Catellus could be the Los Angeles Kings hockey team. Ovrom said people involved in the Burbank arena project had spoken to the Kings, which play at the Great Western Forum along with the Los Angeles Lakers, about moving.

Kings' Executive Vice President Roy Mlakar confirmed that the Kings are "interested in a new, more modern facility" and are exploring several options. He said a Kings move would more likely be made together with the Lakers than with the Clippers.

Mlakar said Burbank "may have made overtures through (Clippers owner Don) Sterling" but "never a solid proposal."

A sports arena has been an optional part of the Union Station plan for some time. Hess noted that there is probably only a market in town for one new sports facility, but he stopped short of saying that the imminent demise of the so-called Warner Bros. Arena in Burbank increased the chances for an arena at Union Station.

Also at Union Station, Catellus currently is building the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's new headquarters, and the property is a leading contender for new headquarters space for the Metropolitan Water District.

Clippers Executive Vice President Andy Roeser has indicated in earlier interviews that if the Clippers didn't move to Burbank, they would opt for a renovation of their existing sports arena in South Central L.A.

But several sources said the Clippers (and others) are also looking at an additional downtown site, other than the Catellus project. Clippers spokesman Joe Safety refused to comment on this, and Roeser did not return calls.

The Clippers conducted a survey earlier this year to gauge the potential effects of a move to Burbank on home game attendance, but the survey results were never released. Burbank residents who showed up for a City Council meeting last August expressed outrage over the arena proposal, saying it would attract criminal elements and ruin their community.

The Clippers also have rejected an offer to move to a new arena in Anaheim.

tThere also has been talk around Los Angeles of the city's two football teams -- the Raiders and the Rams -- possibly moving to new digs.

Raiders owner Al Davis has long complained about the L.A. Memorial Coliseum's lack of the fashionable and profitable luxury boxes now included at newer stadiums. The Coliseum Commission has talked about adding luxury boxes to the Coliseum for years.

But Al LoCasale, spokesman for the Raiders, noted that the first phase of a Coliseum renovation was completed this year, and that the addition of luxury boxes is being "explored as phase two."

He said he knew nothing about any recent discussions regarding the Raiders moving, but noted that "the Rams have been mentioned" as candidates for a move.

John Shaw, spokesman for the Los Angeles Rams football team, said: "As of this time, we have no intention of moving."