Angels Team Up With AEG To Broaden Merchandise Distribution

The Angels have reached a five-year agreement with AEG Merchandising to serve as the exclusive merchandise retailer at Angel Stadium. The Angels’ retail presence will also be expanded throughout Southern California, with products available at AEG’s Team LA stores in Staples Center, The Home Depot Center and Universal City Walk, as well as on Teamlastore.com (Angels). In L.A., Bill Shaikin cites sources as saying the Team LA outlets are considered team stores, and therefore sales are not subject to MLB’s revenue-sharing rules. The Angels have changed their name to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, but Angels VP/Communications Tim Mead said the team has “not authorized any Los Angeles merchandise. You just won’t see that.” Shaikin notes that under a similar deal with AEG, Dodgers merchandise appears at the CityWalk but not at Staples Center or The Home Depot Center (L.A. TIMES, 1/27).

NAME CALLING: MLB.com, which listed teams by city under its pull-down menu before the Angels changed their name, has now changed the menu to list team nicknames (THE DAILY).