Traffic Woes Steal the Show at New Arena : Parking: Hundreds miss all or part of performances at Anaheim venue, stalled by too many cars, not enough spaces.

By TERRY SPENCER

June 26, 1993 12 AM PT

SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

ANAHEIM — Howard Laib knew he was cutting it close when he pulled up to the Anaheim Arena just 15 minutes before an ice skating show was set to begin.

Still, he figured he could pull into the parking lot and hustle his family inside just in time to see the opening number of the sold-out event.

Wrong. The parking lots were full and traffic on Katella Avenue and Douglass Road was near gridlock. By the time his family parked down the street at Anaheim Stadium, rode a shuttle to the arena, and took their seats inside, more than an hour had passed. They weren’t alone.

Officials confirmed that hundreds of people were still stuck in traffic at 9 p.m. Wednesday, an hour after the 1993 Tour of World Figure Skating Champions was set to begin. Many missed all or part of the show, even though it was delayed 30 minutes to accommodate late-comers.

Dozens have complained to arena and city officials, who are promising action.

“It’s a wonderful arena, our seats were terrific, but the parking was a mess,” Laib said. “I’m trying to come up with a one-word description of what I felt as I was sitting in traffic and the thing that comes closest is ‘complete disgust.’ I know that’s two words, but it’s as close as I can get to what I was feeling.”

John Nicoletti, marketing director for the arena, acknowledges the problem, having taken many of the complaints since the arena opened Saturday night with a sold-out concert by Barry Manilow. Traffic to that may have been even worse than it was Wednesday and there were problems Tuesday before a performance by Disney’s Symphonic Fantasy.

Ogden Corp., which operates the arena for the city, is working on the problem and improvements are being made, he said. More traffic signs are being put up, more shuttles deployed and more attendants hired.

“I have a lot of sympathy and empathy for the people who were stuck in traffic,” Nicoletti said. “I’m in charge of marketing this arena and to me that means making sure our guests have a good time from the moment they leave their homes until the time they get home. Right now, we have a major problem getting people inside. We acknowledge that and we are going to work on it.”

City traffic officials would not comment on the problem Friday, except to say they have received many complaints and discussions are being held. They referred all further questions to Ogden.

City officials have known since 1989 that parking would be a problem. In the final environmental impact report done for the project, analysts noted that the 19,400-seat arena would have limited on-site parking availability and it would be dependent on Anaheim Stadium for the overflow. At best, the report said, the arena lot would hold 75% of the cars that patrons would bring.

Indeed, the size of the lot is one of the biggest problems, Nicoletti said, as the 4,500-space parking lot provides just one space for every four patrons to a sold-out event. But because the arena is surrounded by the Santa Ana River, the Orange Freeway, Katella Avenue and a private trailer park, it’s not going to get any bigger.

When the arena lot fills up, traffic has to be diverted to the stadium lot, just as the report predicted.

“People need to car pool when they come here,” Nicoletti said. “I know that sounds like I’m from the transit authority, but it’s a fact.”

The second problem is the parking lot attendants. There may not be enough of them and some are not up to full speed yet. Nicoletti did not know how many attendants the arena now employs, but he said there are 20% more than there were a week ago. Now each attendant needs to work on giving change quickly and keeping the cars moving through the gates.

“But we have only had three events, so a learning curve is to be expected,” Nicoletti said. Two shows expected to draw small crowds, a basketball exhibition Sunday and a wrestling show Monday, will help attendants work out the kinks.

There is also the problem of getting people from the stadium lots to the arena. For Manilow, people walked the quarter mile. For the ice show, four shuttles were brought in. Laib said he stood in line for 20 minutes before he got into a shuttle.

For the next big event, a country-Western concert by Wynonna Judd and Clint Black on July 31, plans are being made to hire more shuttles, Nicoletti said.

Last, Nicoletti said, ticket holders must take some responsibility and arrive more than 15 minutes before the event.

“I can’t stress that enough,” Nicoletti said. “You have to arrive early. Preferably with more than one person in the car.”