HOCKEY; N.H.L. Is Going to Disneyland, and South Florida, Too

The National Hockey League voted unanimously today to expand to Miami and Anaheim, Calif., a bold move for a sport that only months ago was in such disarray that its players went on strike for the first time and its longtime president was forced to resign.

At an upbeat news conference that featured a podium decorated with stuffed dolls of Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse holding a videotape of hockey highlights, the new and high-profile owners were introduced.

The Anaheim team will be owned by the Walt Disney Company, which operates amusement parks and movie studios. Michael Eisner, chairman and chief executive officer of Disney, wore a green, purple and yellow hockey jersey based on "The Mighty Ducks," a current movie his company made about a children's hockey team. He wore a red hat that said "Coach Goofy."

"Our company has been involved with hockey through Goofy and cartoons," he said. "We made a movie called 'The Mighty Ducks.' It did $50 million box office. That was our market research."

The Miami team will be owned by Wayne Huizenga, chairman of Blockbuster Entertainment Corporation, which rents movie videotapes. He also owns the new Florida Marlins baseball team and part of the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League.

The two franchises, which will increase the number of N.H.L. franchises to 26, must pay the league $50 million entrance fees. If negotiations proceed rapidly, the new franchises could begin play as soon as next season.

Today's decision resulted in a temporary delay in the resolution of the two other major issues being debated by the owners in their weeklong convention here. On Friday and Saturday, they are expected to name a new chief executive and decide whether to allow their players to participate in the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway.

Huizenga and Eisner sat alongside Gil Stein, the N.H.L. president, and Bruce McNall, the owner of the Los Angeles Kings and the chairman of the league's Board of Governors.

Huizenga wore a conservative blue business suit. "There are lots of Canadians living here," he said of the potential hockey fans in South Florida, "and a lot come down to get out of the snow."

McNall made a major cash coup in the expansion vote. Because Anaheim is within his team's territory, which is described by the league as 50 miles in diameter, the Kings will take half the Anaheim entry fee, McNall said.

Though the Miami team will share Florida with the Tampa Bay Lightning, which began play this season, their territories do not overlap and the Lightning will get no indemnification payment. But because Tampa Bay does have an exclusive television franchise for Florida, Stein and Lightning Governor David LeFevre said there is a possibility Miami would pay Tampa Bay for sharing television rights.

The new teams will be natural geographic rivals for existing teams in their states -- the Kings and San Jose Sharks in California and the Lightning in Florida. It hasn't been determined which divisions the expansion teams will join.

This week's developments will conclude a year of historic strife and change for the league. At the end of the last regular season, the players went on strike on April 1, placing the Stanley Cup playoffs in jeopardy. The first work stoppage in the 75-year history of the league lasted 10 days. Even though the playoffs were saved, labor peace remains tenuous because the agreement expires after this season.

Partly as a consequence of the labor strife, the league's president for 15 years, John Ziegler, was forced to resign last June 22. In so doing, the owners also promised to repair the sport's shoddy image. Back on ESPN

Given the reins of the league that day on an interim basis, Stein prophetically declared: "There's going to be change that is going to take place rather rapidly."

Some positive moves soon were enacted. The league, though still without a major network TV contract, returned to ESPN after an absence of four seasons. And in an effort to attract new fans and change its image as so many bullies on skates, the league took steps to curtail fighting and stick fouls.

There has also been an infusion of talented players from Eastern Europe that was enhanced by the breakup of the Soviet Union. Although this has created some hostility among some North American players who must compete with them for jobs, the addition of two new teams will expand the job market. Arena Near Disneyland

Huizenga said his team may play at the Miami Arena, home of the National Basketball Association Heat, until a new arena is built. The arena passed its first test, even without a home team, on Tuesday night. A game between the Rangers and the Lightning drew a crowd of 12,842 fans, about 2,000 short of capacity.

With the addition of a hockey team, Miami can boast of a franchise in every major team sport. The other teams are the Florida Marlins, who begin play next season in the National League; the Dolphins of the National Football League, and the Heat.

Eisner said the Disney team may play at Anaheim Arena, which is expected to be completed next June. The site is no more than 10 minutes from Disneyland, and the arena will have 82 luxury suites and a capacity of 17,250 for hockey -- 1,000 more seats than the Forum, the home of the Kings.

Stein said that if the new teams don't begin play next autumn, they will start in the 1994-95 season. Dallas and Houston Next?

The addition of these teams continues a remarkable period of growth for the league, which contained 21 teams from 1979 through 1991. The San Jose Sharks began play last season, followed by the Ottawa Senators and Tampa Bay this season. Under a plan of expansion set up in December 1989, the N.H.L. hopes to add two more teams by the year 2000. Dallas and Houston are among the cities under consideration.

Stein said the expansion into major population centers makes the league's "footprint" more attractive for television networks. LeFevre, the Tampa Bay governor, said the deal for the new teams "was put together very quickly" and that the vote today "was a love-in, more than anything else."

Eisner said "it was like getting into a fraternity. They didn't black-ball us." Logic Behind Franchise

The move caps a period of growth for Disney as well. After expanding its theme parks and building a highly successful movie studio, the Disney Company in 1988 began to turn its attention to network television. It committed itself to spend $100 million a year for five years.

After a slow start, Disney came up with several hits, including "Home Improvement" on ABC and "Pacific Station" on NBC, and became a force in network programming.

Disney's incentive with its foray into hockey will be to turn Anaheim into a unique entertainment entity.

"We are constructing a second gate at Disneyland, which will include more hotels," said Tom Deegan, an executive in Disney's corporate communications office. "We want to establish Anaheim as a 'destination resort,' and the hockey team would fall under the vacation tree."

Disney plans to market the hockey team as something of an alternative to "Fantasy Land" and other elements of Disneyland. "I'm already hearing our team called 'Mice on Ice,' Deegan said. " 'Mickey Mouse organization,' we'll get a lot of that stuff." SLAP SHOTS

The league will choose a new leader later this weeek, and the favorite for the chief executive role remains GARY BETTMAN, currently third in command at the National Basketball Association. GIL STEIN, the other candidate, could be retained as president if the new title of commissioner is established for Bettman. Among those supporting Stein for at least a secondary role is ED SNIDER, owner of the Philadelphia Flyers.