The Angels extended their stay at Angel Stadium for three more years, committing to remain at their Anaheim home through 2032.
The Angels’ future had been murky since a deal with the city collapsed in 2022. Under that deal, the team would have renovated or replaced Angel Stadium and committed to play there through 2050.
Without that deal — killed by the city amid a public corruption investigation into former Anaheim mayor Harry Sidhu — the Angels and the city reverted to the current lease, which was set to expire in 2029.
On Wednesday the Angels said they had exercised the first of three options. The other options can extend the lease to 2035 and again to 2038.
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The stadium opened in 1966, making the coming season the Angels’ 60th in what is now the fourth-oldest ballpark in the major leagues, behind Fenway Park, Wrigley Field and Dodger Stadium.
“We are excited to announce that we have extended our lease securing the Big A as the home of Angels Baseball into the next decade,” spokesperson Marie Garvey said in a statement. “As we prepare for our 60th season in Anaheim, we wanted our fans and community partners to know that Angels Baseball and its Foundation remain committed to being an active part of this city and region.”
The lease extension essentially punts the question of a long-term stadium resolution. The now-dead deal would have transformed the sea of parking lots around the stadium into a ballpark village of restaurants, shops, homes, offices and hotels — similar to what the NHL’s Ducks are building around Honda Center, within walking distance of the stadium.
The collapse of that deal marked the second time in a decade that the city and Angels owner Arte Moreno agreed on a plan to revitalize the stadium area, only for the city to back away.
In the most recent deal, the FBI provided evidence that Sidhu shared confidential city negotiating information with the Angels in exchange for what he hoped would be a million-dollar contribution to his reelection campaign. Neither the FBI affidavit nor Sidhu’s plea deal, in which he agreed to plead guilty to obstruction of justice, wire fraud, and making false statements to federal agents, alleges any wrongdoing by the Angels.
Moreno would have paid $150 million to buy the 150-acre parcel from the city. The development would have created an estimated 18,000 construction jobs and 28,000 permanent jobs and generated an estimated $650 million in tax revenue for the city over 30 years, according to an economic impact study commissioned by Moreno. The city reviewed that study and did not commission its own.
In a statement Wednesday, the city emphasized that talks on a long-term solution have not resumed.
“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 statement said.
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Before Wednesday, the Angels would have had four years left on their lease. The possibility of the team moving from Anaheim — or at least credibly threatening to do so — would have diminished with each passing day, given the time that would have been needed to determine a new city and build a new ballpark.
The Athletics estimate their new Las Vegas ballpark will take three years to build, with construction to start this year, and it has been almost two years since the team secured $380 million in public funding from the Nevada legislature.
“This lease extension brings added certainty and ensures the strong tradition of baseball in Anaheim,” Mayor Ashleigh Aitken said in a statement. “As mayor, I look forward to working with the Angels on future community partnerships, and, as a fan, look forward to a great season ahead.”
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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