Riverside Sports Arena Proposed : Developers Would Also Proceed With Plans for Westdome

Developers who hope to build a professional basketball arena in Santa Ana also plan a smaller, 15,000-seat sports arena in Riverside, partner Alan Durkovic said Thursday.

But Durkovic denied reports that the Riverside project means that Santa Ana’s proposed Westdome will be dropped.

The smaller arena is a separate project that has been in the works for some time, Durkovic said, and would house college and high school sports, concerts and other events.

“We have not abandoned Westdome. In fact, we’re going full-bore in Orange County,” Durkovic said. “We’re not contemplating professional basketball in Riverside.”

Negotiations for an industrial site in Santa Ana are continuing, Durkovic said, but he would not reveal the location. Two proposed sites were rejected by the City Council when residents of the areas protested.

Westdome is projected to be a 20,500-seat arena that would cost about $40 million. The partners have already submitted a $100,000 application fee to the National Basketball Assn. for an expansion franchise. The earliest a team could begin playing in a Santa Ana arena would be the summer of 1988, Durkovic said.

Arena Comes Before Team

Durkovic stressed that he and his three partners, Donald Oliphant, Ronald McMahon and Robert Osbrink, began their efforts because they wanted to bring professional basketball to Orange County. Westdome arose only because of the lack of adequate facilities. “You need an arena before you can get a team,” he said.

The Riverside arena will be part of a larger development that includes a performing arts center, a regional shopping mall, a hotel, a park and restaurants, said Riverside City Manager Douglas Weiford. He stressed that the concept is new to city planners. “There’s an awful lot to be done. We’ve only just received this concept from the developer,” Weiford said.

Developer Bob Kercheval said he supposes that UC Riverside would use the arena. He said the university hopes to upgrade its basketball program from NCAA Division 2 to Division 1 in three years. Asked if he expected professional basketball in the arena, Kercheval said: “We’d love it, but I don’t think that’s a reality. There’s no plan for that now.”

The Riverside City Council is scheduled to take a preliminary vote on the $300-million development concept Tuesday.

Santa Ana council members reached Thursday reserved comment until they had more information. Councilman Robert Luxembourger said he hopes Westdome doesn’t pass Santa Ana by. “I think it’s a tremendous asset,” he said. “It’s not so vital that the city’s going to rise and fall on it, but it’s got tremendous dollar value and prestige.”