Moreno Considers Tempe Plan

Six months after serving notice the Angels would abandon their spring home in Tempe, Ariz., owner Arte Moreno said he is willing to consider the city’s plan to retain the team by expanding the training facility.

The Angels’ rush to the Phoenix suburb of Goodyear has slowed, with a proposed grand opening there delayed to 2006 or 2007. Moreno said he plans to meet with Goodyear officials next week. He said he has received calls from other Arizona sites interested in being host to the Angels but has limited his consideration to Goodyear and Tempe, where the team set an attendance record this spring.

“We’re excited with what Arte is doing with the team and the amount of fan interest he has generated,” Tempe City Manager Will Manley said. “We can have as good a practice facility as any team has in the Cactus League.”

The Angels informed the city in a letter last October that “our team and our fans would be better served by ... a new location with state-of-the-art facilities.” The letter was sent the same week Moreno agreed to become a partner in a 20,000-acre residential and commercial development in Goodyear.

The Angels and Goodyear officials quickly agreed on a financing plan for a $40-million complex, with Moreno donating $10 million worth of land and fronting $20 million in construction costs, with those costs to be repaid by 2019 by Arizona’s Tourism and Sports Authority.

Goodyear Mayor Jim Cavanaugh said the city has been unable to reach agreement with the team on how to share revenues -- ticket sales, parking and concessions -- and divide operational expenses. “The Angels basically needed more time,” he said.

As negotiations lingered, officials decided to ask voters to approve the city’s $10-million share of the construction tab. The election is scheduled Sept. 7.

By then, Manley said, construction could be underway on renovations in Tempe, with the chance to complete some work before camp in February.

Manley said he has $14 million available in city and state funding to refurbish the stadium, build a minor league clubhouse and add three practice fields to the three existing ones. It is unlikely those changes alone would satisfy Moreno. In October, Manley said the Angels had asked the city for $40 million in upgrades, including a new stadium and major league clubhouse.

The Angels’ lease in Tempe extends through 2007.

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Brendan Donnelly threw off a mound Friday for the first time since early March as he continued his recovery from a broken nose suffered during spring training.

Manager Mike Scioscia said the right-handed reliever, also coming off surgery to remove bone chips from his pitching arm, still needs a lot of work to increase his stamina and re-establish his release point. Donnelly could throw off a mound again as soon as Sunday and probably will require a minor league rehabilitation assignment before rejoining the Angels. Scioscia is hopeful Donnelly, his primary setup man last season, can return by early to mid-May.

Tim Salmon sat out a fourth consecutive game with a sore left knee despite feeling better during pregame workouts. Salmon, replaced at designated hitter by Shane Halter, could return today.

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Times staff writer Ben Bolch contributed to this report.