Angels President John Carpino said publicly releasing the value of Angel Stadium’s entire property under the scenario that the ballpark is no longer there “will lead to an unworkable situation” in ongoing lease negotiations with Anaheim leaders, according to Art Marroquin of the ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER. Team officials said that they “support releasing an appraisal Friday that focuses solely on the worth of parking lots that could be developed for eateries, shops or offices.” The sticking point for Carpino is that “appraisers hired by the city also examined the value of the stadium’s property if the Angels leave Anaheim as part of an opt-out clause” in ‘19. Carpino in an April 24 letter sent to the City Council and other officials wrote that “releasing that information without context -- such as tax revenue generated by any potential development on the parking lots -- may be ‘misunderstood’ by the public.” City officials said that they “want to release the entire property’s value if the Angels leave, in addition to the value of the land the team could develop.” The City Council “voted 4-1 on an agreement last September that outlined a series of bargaining points, including one that would allow the Angels to lease the parking lots for $1 annually over 66 years for development.” City and team officials have said that “money generated as a result of development would go toward an estimated” $150M in “needed maintenance upgrades at Angel Stadium.” Anaheim Mayor Tom Tait, who “cast the dissenting vote on the bargaining points,” said that the stadium lease, set to expire in ‘29, “already requires the Angels to maintain the property” (ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, 4/30).
SEND ME AN ANGEL: In L.A., Bill Shaikin notes although the Angels and the city of Anaheim “agreed on the framework of a stadium deal seven months ago, the relations between the two sides have grown so strained that each side is accusing the other of trying to make significant changes to the terms of the deal.” In a March 21 letter to the city, Angels Dir of Legal Affairs & Risk Management Alex Winsberg “complained that a draft agreement presented by the city two days earlier ‘fundamentally conflicts with the basic intent of the deal.’” Carpino wrote in his letter the team was "shocked" by the draft agreement that he said "removed any inducement for the Angels to undertake the substantial economic risk and responsibility negotiated into the framework of the deal that was initially proposed by the City of Anaheim." In a March 31 letter to the Angels, City Attorney Michael Houston “reminded the team that the deal framework was subject to change upon further negotiations” (L.A. TIMES, 4/30).
