Anaheim : Consultant to Evaluate Angels’ Benefit to City

As lease negotiations between the city and the California Angels continue, the City Council today is expected to approve payment of $20,000 to a consulting firm to evaluate the economic benefits of keeping a professional baseball franchise in the city.

The council’s action would be an extension of an existing agreement with the accounting firm of Deloitte & Touche, which was hired by the city last August to evaluate the cost of stadium renovations or construction of a new stadium and to study ways to pay for such projects.

The firm, which has assisted in previous stadium lease renegotiations, will conduct a financial analysis of potential lease terms and other background studies.

The baseball franchise’s lease expires in 2001, but the team is renegotiating a 30-year lease with the city, which would include a guarantee of a new, baseball-only stadium.

Team officials said they are still not satisfied with the city’s most recent proposal, under which a new stadium might not open until the 1999 season.

In order for design and construction to be completed in time for the 1998 season, an agreement would have to be reached no later than this month, team officials said.