Anaheim Sports

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Anaheim Sports, Inc.
Subsidiary of a public corporation
Industry Sports
Fate Dissolved
Defunct 2005
Headquarters Anaheim, CA
Key people
Tony Tavares (President)
Parent Walt Disney Parks and Resorts
(The Walt Disney Company)
Divisions Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
Anaheim Angels
Disney Ice

Anaheim Sports, Inc., formerly 'Disney Sports Enterprises, Inc. (DSE), was a fully owned subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company based in Anaheim, California and created in 1992 as the ownership group for the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim professional hockey team.

History

Disney Sports Enterprises

Disney Sports Enterprises, Inc. was incorporated in California on December 12, 1986.[1]

Disney purchased a National Hockey League expansion franchise in December 1992 for Anaheim. The team was named Mighty Ducks after a Disney movie, The Mighty Ducks.[2] The movie and the team was due to Disney CEO Michael Eisner interest with hockey which stemmed from his sons playing the game. NHL executives considered it a "coup" and ESPN gave the NHL its best deal to date for TV rights, $600 million for 5 years.[3]

In May 1995, DSE agreed to purchase 25% of the California Angels from Gene Autry with an option to purchase the remaining ownership.[2] The company then agreed to a new lease with the city of Anaheim, in which it agreed to add the city's name to the name of the baseball club in return for full management of Anaheim Stadium and an increased share of the stadium's revenues.[citation needed] DSE took operational control of the Angels in May 1996[4] which was renamed the Anaheim Angels.[5]

Anaheim Sports

In December 1996, Disney Sports Enterprises, Inc. was renamed to Anaheim Sports, Inc. for tax purposes and to align with the teams' names.[5] Anaheim Sports teams were then seen as an additional draw for people to visit Disneyland Resort and a key to a potential regional sports channel, ESPN West.[3]

By 1998, the two teams were losing money and the ESPN West channel never got off the ground, which could have justified keeping the teams. The two teams were put up for sale in 1999. Broadcom had approached Disney about interactive broadcasting rights for the teams which would have allow viewers at home to purchase Anaheim tickets and merchandise via their remote controls. Instead, Disney offered to sell the Broadcom partners, Henry Samueli and Henry Nicholas, the two teams for $450 million.[3]

The Lehman Bros. investment bank was hired to sell the two teams, separately or together, in 2002.[3] In May 2003, the company sold the Angels to advertising magnate Arte Moreno.[6] In February 2005, it agreed to sell the Mighty Ducks and the Disney Ice, the team's training facility, to Broadcom co-founder and billionaire Henry Samueli and his wife.[3] The company was later merged out.[1]

References

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