Hockey

The NHL has told its new franchises in Orange County and South Florida they must inform the league by March whether they will begin play for the 1993-94 season or wait until the 1994-95 season to start operations.

The March deadline is designed to allow time for the league to formulate its schedule. A spokesman for the Anaheim Arena, where the Orange County team is expected to play, said the team’s start-up date is among the items being negotiated between representatives of Disney and the Ogden Corp., which will operate the arena.