Ducks unveil $1-billion arena renovation. But can either OC team win?

For pro sports in Orange County, these are the worst of times. The Angels last appeared in the playoffs 11 years ago, the Ducks seven years ago.

The Ducks, embracing a full rebuild, scored more points last season than they had in six years. They still posted a losing record and fired their coach. The Angels, declining a full rebuild or an all-in push, are back in last place.

Today, we bring good news to the loyal and long-suffering sports fans of Orange County. In announcing a $1-billion renovation of Honda Center, the Ducks are unveiling what might be the most fan-friendly policy ever adopted in our car-centric local culture: easy parking.

No more cars inching forward to the parking attendant. No more shuffling through your wallet for cash or a credit card. No more scrolling through your phone to find that bar code, or scrambling through your glove compartment to find that parking pass.

Just drive right in and enjoy the show.

“We think this will get people in 20 to 30 minutes faster,” said Bill Foltz, chief executive officer of OC Sports and Entertainment.

“Parking is the first thing you see when you are coming to a concert or a sporting event, and getting out of there is the last thing you remember. So we are working really hard to make sure both of those things are great experiences.”

The renovations revealed Tuesday include a five-story grand entrance and community gathering space; new and expanded concession areas to shorten lines; new and renovated suites and luxury seats; and three new parking garages.

This is a welcome boost to LA28. The Honda Center will be hosting Olympic volleyball, and the owners of the Ducks are throwing in a billion-dollar venue facelift.

“If you’re going to spend this kind of money,” Foltz said, “why not do it when the world is coming here?”

Truth be told, Ducks owners Henry and Susan Samueli would have spent the money anyway. They previously committed $4 billion to the OC Vibe development now under construction around the Honda Center, with a performance hall, restaurants, a food hall and park scheduled to open next year, with homes, hotels and offices and additional entertainment venues to follow.

It is all of that — the district around the arena — that shaped the parking policy. Whether you stop by to watch the Ducks, see a concert, grab dinner or simply meet friends for a stroll, the policy is the same.

“What we’re trying to do is eliminate that transaction that everybody has when you’re pulling into a parking lot,” Foltz said. “You are just going to pull in.”

That doesn’t mean you won’t pay a fee to access the general parking lots for a game or a concert, but the fee will be part of what Foltz called an “all-inclusive” ticket price.

The Ducks say this parking model is “the first of its kind at a U.S. arena.”

The arena, we should note here, is owned by the city of Anaheim.

“The Ducks are an unparalleled partner with Anaheim,” Mayor Ashleigh Aitken said. “They are great stewards of the Honda Center, and OC Vibe will bring a new energy to the surrounding area.

“What makes them so special is their devotion to the fan experience, ensuring their followers feel valued.”

The owners of the Ducks are picking up the cost of revamping the arena.

“It’s all the Samueli family that’s behind this,” Foltz said. “We fund all of it. We’ve never gotten money from the city for any renovations here.”

That stands in stark contrast to the current stalemate between the city and the Angels over the future of Angel Stadium.

The city has backed away from two deals in which Angels owner Arte Moreno would have paid to renovate Angel Stadium and develop the land around Angel Stadium, in much the same way the Ducks are doing around the Honda Center.

“I hope to replicate this at Angel Stadium,” Aitken said, “but realize the teams are just in different places.”

The most recent deal collapsed in 2022, after the disclosure of an FBI corruption investigation into former mayor Harry Sidhu, who was sentenced in March to two months in federal prison.

Moreno so far has shown little interest in a third round of negotiations, despite an invitation this month from Aitken.

“I’m not going to put $200 [million] or $300 million into a stadium that a city owns without any of their participation,” Moreno told the team website in February.

Foltz said the Ducks and Angels communicate regularly and said he briefed Angels president John Carpino on the Ducks’ renovation plans. Foltz said he has heard nothing to indicate the Angels are making similar plans.

“I don’t know of anything that’s happening over there,” Foltz said.

The Ducks’ parking innovations are cool, and a vibrant entertainment village around the arena is great, but what would be really great is for one of the Orange County teams to make a postseason appearance sometime this decade.

As Foltz talked up the brand new, grand new plaza outside Honda Center, he sounded wistful. Playoff watch parties, after all, require a playoff team.

“I’m jealously watching the Kings and Edmonton play,” he said, “or seeing Toronto, where they have just as many fans outside as they do inside. We’re building for that future.”

Bring it on. Soon, please.