Edison Field’s Name May Change

Edison Field could have a new name next season, with the Angels and Edison International in the concluding stages of negotiations to modify the company’s sponsorship agreement with the team.

Anaheim Stadium became Edison Field in 1998, after the company agreed to pay the Angels more than $60 million over 20 years for a sponsorship package that included broadcast advertising, ballpark advertising, the best luxury suite in the house and naming rights to the newly renovated stadium.

Tim Mead, the Angels’ vice president of communications, said Sunday that both sides are reviewing the entire package, including naming rights.

“There’s a possibility the relationship may be altered somewhat,” Mead said. “There are no specifics yet.”

Edison spokesmen did not return calls Sunday.

An announcement could come as soon as this week.

Although the agreement requires the Angels to refer to Edison Field in publicizing activities at the stadium, the team’s Web site recently announced a February fan festival “at the Big A” and said tickets would be sold “at the Big A box office.”

“The Big A” is the longtime stadium nickname, a reference to the A-shaped scoreboard that formerly towered behind the outfield fence and now stands in the parking lot, flashing messages to drivers passing on the Orange Freeway, Mead said.

“There is nothing in place to change the name to another sponsor. It could change, but it’s not going to be the Big A. If other discussions get worked out, it may go back to the ranks of traditional baseball names.”

The Edison agreement allows the company to renegotiate in the event the Angels change ownership, a source said. The Walt Disney Co. sold the team to Arte Moreno in May.

Edison originally coveted the exposure at a time that deregulation of the electric industry promised to enable consumers to switch power providers as readily as long-distance telephone companies. That didn’t happen, and so Edison might no longer consider a top-dollar Angel sponsorship so valuable.

The precise value of the Edison agreement is difficult to determine, another source said, because the annual base payment rises over the years and rises as well with increased media references to Edison Field.

Whether Moreno could generate more revenue in a sponsorship that includes naming rights also is difficult to determine. The Philadelphia Phillies reportedly signed a 25-year, $95-million agreement with Citizens Bank for their new ballpark, and the San Diego Padres reportedly got a 22-year, $60-million deal from Petco for their new park.

But the Texas Rangers have yet to find a naming-rights sponsor for their ballpark, which opened in 1994, and the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks opened their new stadium two years ago without one.

Under their lease agreement with Anaheim, the Angels retain all revenue from naming rights but must include “Anaheim” within the stadium name. However, Edison International Field of Anaheim typically is shortened to Edison Field.