Fleeced by an Angel

PITY THE POOR RESIDENTS of Anaheim. Not only has the very name of their city become part of a national punch line, thanks to Angel owner Arte Moreno’s re-branding of his baseball product last year as the goofy-sounding Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, but their mayor, Curt Pringle, added monetary injury to regional insult by wasting tax funds on a doomed lawsuit that was rightfully rejected by jurors on Thursday.

The breach-of-contract case was not complicated: A 1996 lease agreement between the city and the team offered a $30-million subsidy if the then-California Angels would “include the name Anaheim” in the club’s name. Regardless of how silly it sounds, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim meets that contractual requirement. Even the city’s lawyer had to admit in closing arguments that Moreno was “technically compliant” with the lease. And after the 9-3 verdict, Pringle said the suit was really about the “broader issue, and that was to make sure our identity of Orange County and Anaheim be preserved.”

But such identity preservation doesn’t come cheap. The Times reported Thursday that the case, on which the city has already spent a reported $2 million, may cost Anaheim taxpayers as much as $10 million in legal fees. And that only scratches the surface of what the city has shelled out for Anaheim Stadium over the years. From its 1964-66 construction (which brought the L.A. Angels to Orange County) to a 1978-80 renovation (which brought the L.A. Rams to Anaheim for 15 years) and the 1996 subsidy (which contributed toward a handsome renovation), the Big A has cost nearly $300 million, in 2005 dollars.

And what do Anaheim’s burghers get in return? Aside from some extra revenue when the team draws well, and maybe a shorter stadium commute than Angel fans in the Inland Empire, not much. Moreno -- a terrific owner from every standpoint except for how he extracts ransoms from his host cities -- has already hinted that he’ll opt out of his lease in 2016 unless the city sweetens his deal even more. A similar threat in 2004 persuaded city and state officials in Tempe, Ariz., to fork over $20 million for the Angels’ spring training facilities.

Moreno is in for a rude surprise if he thinks such hardball will play within the county limits of the real Los Angeles. The rest of us, especially those pining for the National Football League to return to L.A., can learn from the civics lesson meted out to Pringle: When it comes to professional sports stadiums, if you build it, they will leave. Sooner or later.

In the meantime, reader Alexander Zajac has come up with the most elegant compromise yet: Why not just call the team by its Spanish name? Los Angeles de Anaheim has a nice ring to it, and it fits easier on a uniform.