Angels Reach Tentative Deal To Buy Stadium And Remain In Anaheim Through 2050

ANAHEIM (CBSLA) – The Los Angeles Angels have reached a tentative deal with the city of Anaheim to purchase Angel Stadium for $325 million and sign a lease to remain in Anaheim through at least 2050.

Under the terms of the deal, the team would purchase both the stadium and the surrounding 153 acres of land from the city for $325 million. City officials announced the proposed agreement in a news conference Wednesday.

The Angels would also sign a lease committing to remaining in Anaheim through 2050, with the option of adding another 15 years on top of that.

Under the terms of the sale, the Angels would be wholly responsible for paying for either a renovation of the 54-year-old stadium or building a new one. No taxpayer money would be used.

"Best of all, there would be no taxpayer stadium funding, and no impact to Anaheim budget, except to add to it," Anaheim Mayor Harry Sidhu told reporters Wednesday.

The Angels future in Anaheim has been in flux since the team opted out of its lease back in October of 2018.

The city, which has been paying about $700,000 a year on improvements, would entirely transfer those costs to the team. However, as part of the deal, the city would also give up its revenue sharing on ticket sales and parking, which amounted to about $581,000 after expenses for the 12-month period which ran through June of 2019.

Also under the deal, the land around the stadium would potentially be developed into apartments, condos, hotels and businesses, for which the city would get an estimated $7 million in property and sales taxes, officials said. This would also include affordable housing and parks.

"This is a great proposal, but people will ask, 'What's the catch?'" Sidhu wrote in a news release. "There is one, and it's great. The biggest hurdles to affordable housing and parks are finding land and getting developers to build. We would ask the Angels ownership to do more than others have in the Platinum Triangle, with credit for doing so."

The Platinum Triangle is an 820-acre area around Angel Stadium.

The deal must still be approved by the Anaheim City Council, which will hold a public meeting on Dec. 20 to discuss it.

"We appreciate the mayor's leadership in working to keep the Angels here in Anaheim, which has been our home for over 50 years," Angels owner Arte Moreno said in a statement. "Today is the first step in enabling us to invest in our future by building a winning team and delivering a high-quality fan experience."

For more information on the agreement, click here.