‘Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim’ could be no more
The Anaheim City Council is expected to vote Tuesday to enter lease negotiations with the Angels that could keep the team in the city through 2057 but enable the team to drop the clumsy “of Anaheim” suffix from its name.
Under the proposed deal, the Angels -- and not the city -- would pay for a major renovation of Angel Stadium. In return, Angels owner Arte Moreno would rent land surrounding the stadium for $1 per year and secure development rights to that land for at least 66 years.
The Angels can opt out of their stadium lease in 2016. The vote Tuesday would extend that opt-out window through 2019, giving the team and the city additional time to negotiate a complex deal.
The two sides already have agreed that the Angels will have sole control over the team name, according to a memorandum posted on the city’s website.
In 2005, Moreno changed the team name to “Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim,” in order to satisfy a lease provision requiring the name to “include the name Anaheim therein.” The city sued Moreno and lost.
Under the new deal, Moreno could simply call his team the Los Angeles Angels.
Angel Stadium is the fourth-oldest stadium in the major leagues, behind Fenway Park, Wrigley Field and Dodger Stadium. Angel Stadium opened in 1966. The proposed deal would extend the Angels’ tenancy there through 2057, with opportunities to opt out in 2036 and 2050.
The Dodgers paid for $100 million in stadium renovations last winter. Angel Stadium last was remodeled in 1996-97, at a cost of $118 million. The Walt Disney Co., then the owner of the Angels, paid $98 million, with the city contributing $20 million.
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