Moreno Floats Use Of "Los Angeles" In Team's Name

Moreno May Take Branding One Step Further And Rename Team Los Angeles Angels

Angels Owner Arte Moreno has discussed with MLB Commissioner Bud Selig the possibility of changing the team's name back to "Los Angeles Angels," according to a source cited by Bill Shaikin of the L.A. TIMES. The word "Anaheim" was removed last fall from the team's uniforms, schedules, tickets and Web site. The city of Anaheim this spring "sent a letter to Moreno, reminding him that the stadium lease requires the team to be called the Anaheim Angels." Anaheim Convention, Sports & Entertainment Dept. Exec Dir Greg Smith said that the team has "not approached city officials about a possible name change." Shaikin noted the Angels secured a sponsorship deal this offseason with the L.A. Times, which includes a sign above the right-field scoreboard. Dodgers Chair & President Frank McCourt, who "would be powerless to stop" the name change, said, "Marketing campaigns don't change the loyalty of fans. [L.A.] has a team. Anaheim has a team. This is [L.A.'s] team." Moreno and Selig declined to comment (L.A. TIMES, 7/4). Shaikin today reports that the Angels received "less than a dozen e-mails" opposing to the name change. Fans debated the issue on radio shows and online message boards, "most urging Moreno to retain" the Anaheim name. A post on the Angels' message board provided a link to an online petition that gathered 120 signatures in its first day (L.A. TIMES, 7/6). As of presstime, the petition has 165 signatures (THE DAILY).

VLAD: The L.A. TIMES' Reid & Newhan cited sources as saying that McCourt's $430M bid to purchase the Dodgers and the "length of the approval process thwarted the Dodgers' attempt to sign [Angels RF Vladimir] Guerrero" last winter. Selig's office "privately informed" former Dodgers Owner News Corp. and McCourt that signing Guerrero "could create a debt-equity imbalance that might impede the sale approval process." But the commissioner's office "denied raising concerns," and McCourt said that News Corp. "decided not to sign Guerrero." McCourt: "Was I asked my opinion about signing Guerrero? Yes. I gave prior ownership an absolute thumbs up. But at the end of the day, player acquisitions were, at that time, the sole responsibility of the prior ownership" (L.A. TIMES, 7/3).