An original deal between the Los Angeles Angels and the city of Anaheim was nixed earlier in the year due to a corruption scandal, which caused a negative trickledown surrounding the original plans. But a newly elected city council is said to have their own plans for Angel Stadium and the team’s future, noting the team’s shaky few-year stretch.
The dysfunction on the field seemed to walk hand in hand with their dealings off the field. Angels owner Arte Moreno and his businesses outside of the team were connected to the broken deal which was involved in the FBI investigation into former Anaheim mayor Harry Sidhu and his alleged corruption.
Original plans included hundreds of millions of dollars shifting between parties to secure land in order to develop the area around the current stadium.
Built in 1966, Angel Stadium is far behind the rest of Major League Baseball in terms of modernity and would require upgrades, but it is only a small wrinkle to the multiple high-profile issues with the team, via Alicia Robinson of the O.C. Register:
“The ballpark facility is not state-of-the-art compared to where things are (today) and needs some attention, there has been a political quagmire that has gone on and the bad PR that has gone on,” including the Angels’ losing record and a former team employee’s conviction for providing drugs that caused a pitcher’s 2019 overdose death, said Maury Brown, a sports business reporter for Forbes:
“All of those things, I think, makes it an intriguing purchase for anyone looking at it.”
Moreno announced his intention to sell the team in the second half of the MLB season this past year, and to much joy of fans and the baseball industry, a two-decade-long ride during his tenure as team owner will come to an end once a potential buyer is lined up.
Dodger Stadium is another ballpark among the older MLB stadiums, but their ownership group has pumped a ton of money into renovations to transform it into a mix of historical feel and new-age.
But Angel Stadium hasn’t seen that level of commitment with their park, leaving the door open for new owners to consider a new stadium as the best, next move:
Maintenance and improvements to the 56-year-old stadium are one big question mark hanging over any potential sale.
A 2013 estimate pegged stadium upgrades around $150 million, and “(with) inflation alone, you’re likely looking at double that today,” Anaheim spokesman Mike Lyster said.
The deal to sell the team has yet to be completed, and there’s been little public knowledge about how that process is being handled or where it stands.
Major League Baseball expects Angels sale to be completed before the 2023 season
At the MLB Winter Meetings in San Diego, Calif., MLB commissioner Rob Manfred expressed his optimism that the league believes this will be resolved soon.
The Angels have had a busy offseason in their roster operations as they’ve added solid contributors in what is assumed to be an incredibly pivotal season if the team hopes to convince superstar Shohei Ohtani to sign long-term.
A large domino to fall is Moreno getting out of team control, mainly because he hasn’t been a bright spot for the club during the entirety of his tenure as owner.
Make sure to follow Angels Nation on Twitter for all the latest news and updates surrounding the Halos!
