The new deal keeps the Angels in Anaheim through '50, with options to extend through '65GETTY IMAGES
The Angels will own their home ballpark for the "first time in their history" after reaching a deal with the city of Anaheim, according to Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com. SRB Management, which counts Angels Owner Arte Moreno as a partner, will buy Angel Stadium and the 133 acres of surrounding land for $325M. In exchange, the Angels have "agreed to stay in Anaheim" through at least '50. The next step is a City Council vote on the purchase that will "take place in a special meeting on Dec. 20." The Angels had until the end of the year to either "exercise an opt-out clause, play out their existing lease," which ran through '29, or "negotiate a way to play out of a new or renovated" ballpark in Anaheim. The new agreement includes three "additional opt-outs in five-year increments," extending as far as '65. Included within the 153-acre purchase are the ballpark, 12,500 "parking spaces and the City National Grove of Anaheim, a 1,700-seat live-music venue." Under the new deal, the Angels would "fully fund all development" with the ballpark and "surrounding land but also profit off all the revenue." The Angels also have "agreed to incorporate affordable housing, parks and open spaces, details of which will be ironed out" in the spring. The Angels have "retained the services of HKS Architects" for the project (ESPN.com, 12/4).
LOOKING AT THE DETAILS: In L.A., Bill Shaikin notes under the deal, the city of Anaheim would "not contribute to the cost" of either renovating the ballpark or "building a new one, and the Angels would decide whether to upgrade or replace" the current facility (L.A. TIMES, 12/5). In California, Alicia Robinson in a front-page piece notes the full team name, Los Angeles Angels, is "not part of the deal and team officials have said they don't plan to change it." The news of the deal "puts to rest the suggestion the team might move to Long Beach, where city leaders months ago had sought to woo the Angels to a proposed waterfront" ballpark (ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, 12/5).
