VALUE IS WHAT THEY GET

The Angels did not land a lavish new television contract last winter. They did not unveil new luxury suites. They did raise ticket prices but only modestly in comparison with other major league teams in prime markets.

And yet their franchise value shot up, way up. The Angels jumped from 13th to sixth in the annual Forbes rankings, in a year no other club jumped more than three spots.

Forbes estimated the Angels’ worth at $500 million, nearly three times the amount Arte Moreno paid to buy the club from the Walt Disney Co. five years ago.

The Angels, a fixture in the bottom half of the rankings under previous ownership, now trail only the New York Yankees, New York Mets, Boston Red Sox, Dodgers and Chicago Cubs in estimated value.

“They really have turned into a premier franchise,” Forbes associate editor Kurt Badenhausen said.

The Dodgers’ value has soared under new ownership too. Frank and Jamie McCourt bought the club -- and Dodger Stadium and surrounding parking lot -- for $430 million four years ago. Forbes estimates the club alone is worth $632 million today.

“We’ve turned it around, and we’re proud of that fact,” Frank McCourt said.

The Dodgers turned a $20-million profit last season and the Angels turned a $15-million profit, according to Forbes. The Dodgers have turned double-digit losses under Fox into double-digit profits under the McCourts, and the Angels have turned consistent losses under Disney into consistent profits under Moreno.

Under new ownership, the Angels and Dodgers have had record attendance, and the Dodgers have opened new luxury seating areas and aggressively increased the price of tickets.

According to Team Marketing Report, the cost for a family of four -- average-priced tickets, parking, hot dogs, drinks, programs and caps -- has increased from $154 to $229 at Dodger Stadium since 2004.

At Angel Stadium, that cost has risen from $133 to $140 over the same period. (Luxury seats are not counted in the the average ticket price.)

That relative affordability, Badenhausen said, explains the big jump in the Angels’ franchise value.

“There’s room to increase revenue with the Angels,” he said.

The Dodgers’ average ticket price ranks sixth this year, behind the two New York clubs, the two Chicago clubs and the Red Sox. The McCourts have invested heavily in renovating Dodger Stadium -- $60 million last winter alone -- and Badenhausen said he saw no indication the Dodgers’ prices would level off.

“If fans keep coming as ticket prices keep going up,” he said, “it isn’t exactly a deterrent to keep raising them.”

Said McCourt: “The money that we’re now seeing, plus a lot more, is going into the product on the field and the stadium. We’re all about the fan experience.”

When Moreno added Los Angeles to the Angels’ name three years ago, he said he believed the affiliation could help generate enough additional revenue to ease price hikes.

Badenhausen said he has no concrete figures to support Moreno’s plan. Fox executives have said their $500-million contract with the Angels was driven by winning that keeps attendance and viewership up, not by the name change.

“Would the team have this level of success without L.A. in the name? Probably,” Badenhausen said. “Long term, I’ll say it does pay off for him.”

The magazine said the Yankees and Red Sox were two of only three teams to lose money last year, estimating the Yankees’ loss at $47 million and the Boston loss at $13 million, but Badenhausen said the Yankees forfeited $115 million and the Red Sox $74 million in revenue sharing and luxury taxes.

Angels President Dennis Kuhl declined to comment.

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Times staff writer Kevin Baxter contributed to this report.

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bill.shaikin@latimes.com

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

No. 1

New York Yankees

Owner: George Steinbrenner

$1.3 billion

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No. 2

New York Mets

Owner: Fred Wilpon

$824 million

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No. 3

Boston Red Sox

Owners: John Henry, Thomas Werner

$816 million

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No. 4

Los Angeles Dodgers

Owners: Frank and Jamie McCourt

$694 million

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No. 5

Chicago Cubs

Owner: Tribune Co.

$642 million

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No. 6

Los Angeles Angels

Owner: Arte Moreno

$500 million

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No. 7

Atlanta Braves

Owner: Liberty Media

$497 million

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No. 8

San Francisco Giants

Owners: Peter Magowan, Sue Burn

$494 million

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No. 9

St. Louis Cardinals

Owner: William DeWitt Jr.

$484 million

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No. 10

Philadelphia Phillies

Owner: William Giles

$481 million