The Angels owner’s lease to use the city’s stadium with Anaheim ends in 2032.
The mayor of Anaheim, California, Ashleigh Aitken, wants the owner of Major League Baseball’s Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Arte Moreno, to have “an open and honest conversation about the future of baseball in Anaheim” with her. But there could be a major hurdle before that happens. Aitken wants Moreno to restore one of the team’s former names. The Anaheim Angels. In 1966, when owner Gene Autry moved his baseball business from Los Angeles to Anaheim he rebranded the business as the California Angels. In 1997, the new franchise owner, the Walt Disney Company changed the brand name to the Anaheim Angels. In 2005, another new owner Moreno changed the name to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Los Angeles is about 33 miles away from Anaheim.
Aitken sent Moreno a letter with eight “starting points” for negotiations, including the return of Anaheim to the Angels name, public negotiating updates, community benefits agreements, and workshops to discuss what residents would like to see in development of the 150-acre stadium site. It is unclear what Moreno wants to do. Earlier this year, Moreno extended his lease by three years to use the city of Anaheim’s stadium until 2032. Moreno, who is 78 years old, might allow someone else to deal with the lease. Angels’ franchise ownership can extend the lease through 2038. When we last left Moreno, he had struck out in his attempt to take over the Anaheim stadium and the land surrounding it. Moreno wanted to build a stadium-village. The city of Anaheim released a terse statement about the lease extension. “The extension is not the result of any long-term discussions between the team and the city, and there are no long-term lease or other talks underway.” The Anaheim stadium is 59 years old and has undergone extensive renovations. The stadium dance continues in Anaheim.
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