Angel’s Albert Pujols, left, gets a handshake from owner Arte Moreno in the dugout prior to the Freeway Series game against the Dodgers at Angel Stadium in Anaheim on Sunday, March 25, 2018. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG) Anaheim Angels manager Mike Scioscia, top right, and 2002 World Series Most Valuable Player Troy Glaus, top left, hold the championship trophy as they parade down main street at Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2002. Joining Scioscia and Glaus on the float are players Troy Percival, bottom left, David Eckstein, bottom right, David Kennedy, behind Percival, Garret Anderson, behind Ekstein, Darin Erstad, third from top left, Tim Salmon, below Mickey Mouse, and vice-president and general manager Bill Stoneman, second from top left. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian, file) ANAHEIM, CA – SEPTEMBER 25: Mike Trout #27 of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim watches the ball leave the stadium after a solo homerun hit by Joey Gallo #13 of the Texas Rangers during the third inning of a game at Angel Stadium on September 25, 2018 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) Los Angeles Rams fans in the first half of a NFL football game against the Los Angeles Chargers at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Sunday, September 23, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG) The Chargers’ first regular season game at StubHub will be Sept. 17 against the Miami Dolphins. (AP Photo/Kelvin Kuo) The Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC) tries out their new field for the first time after the unveiling of the Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles on Wednesday, April 18, 2018. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG) I hope Anaheim city leadership treats the Angels just like Walt Disney Co. and tells the baseball team “no more handouts.” The Angels told the city they want out of their stadium lease after the 2019 season. Supposedly, the city-owned Angel Stadium doesn’t meet its fans’ needs. Nobody’s that dumb. It’s clear this is a ploy to make baseball in Anaheim more profitable for billionaire owner Arte Moreno. If I were, say, the god of Anaheim … I’d quickly take the Angels up on their lease termination and tell them today, without any negotiations, they should have their bags packed once the baseball season ends in 2019. I wouldn’t see this as Anaheim “losing” the Angels. I’d view it as the city trading an aging veteran for more promising prospects in the real estate game. Now you might be thinking, “Jon, didn’t you recently write that the city was foolish for hardball tactics with Disney?” Yes, I think Anaheim goofed in essentially rejecting plans for a luxury hotel at Disneyland’s gates that would have yielded the city $100 million-plus in hotel taxes over 20 years. Killing the hotel was a lose-lose for the company and the city from what could have been a mutually beneficial partnership. But I’ve long believed professional sports stadiums are almost universally “wins” for rich team owners and “losers” for taxpayers who build, own and maintain such facilities. And in Southern California, circa 2018, the Angel Stadium site — with a hip urban feel that’s close to mass-transit and three freeways — is real estate gold the city can mine in numerous ways far more lucrative than owning a sports stadium. Plus, the Angels under Moreno’s watch have not been a perfect tenant. Does anybody remember when Moreno in 2005 pulled the Anaheim name off of the Anaheim Angels, something they were dubbed from 1997 through 2004? He used a legal loophole to muscle the city moniker out of the baseball team’s marketing. Almost as painful, he insisted “Los Angeles Angels” gave his sports business a more global, glitzier image. Do not forget the key reason many municipalities would want – or attract – a pro sports franchise: That city-name marketing buzz Moreno took away. So unless the owner wants to go retro and rename them the “Anaheim Angels” there should be no further discussions. In previous lease negotiations, Moreno wanted development rights to the stadium parking lot for … $1 a year in exchange for taking on the stadium’s refurbishment costs. Real estate appraisers in 2014 valued the land at as much as $325 million. Today, this stadium neighborhood has become a hotbed of real estate development, a building boom that’s certainly helped city finances. But the Angels balked when one developer wanted to build the mixed-use LTG Platinum Center at the stadium’s parking lot — land owned by the city but controlled by the Angels. Sure, a settlement was negotiated, but the squabble highlights just how desirable that stadium site’s land would be if put out for bidding. Forget the business back-and-forth, the entire sporting industry is going under some hefty challenges. While spending on sports and entertainment is still on the rise – and let’s remember we’re living in an extended economic upswing – how that money is spent is evolving. Legacy sports like baseball are feeling the impact: declining attendance at games as prospects for lower broadcast revenues. Is that a bet Anaheim wants to be part of? Plus, the Southern California pro sports landscape has intensified. Two pro football teams moved here in last year and a pro soccer team is in its inaugural season. I can see why Moreno would need a better stadium to compete for fans … but why should a city like Anaheim pay some of that bill? And the Angels certainly haven’t done much on the playing field of late to woo fans. Moreno became owner shortly after the team won the World Series in 2002. (Note: I attended that title-clinching game! )There was initial success under Moreno but missing Major League Baseball’s playoffs the last four years — and no playoff wins since 2009 — is a solid yardstick of the ball team’s recent underperformance. If nothing else, the city should call Moreno’s bluff. Anaheim’s been good for Moreno. He paid Disney an estimated $184 million for the team in 2003. Forbes valued the Angels, before the 2018 season, at $1.8 billion. Has he returned the good fortune? What would the Angels do if they have no home field for 2020. Where would they play? That would damage fan support and probably further challenge the team’s ability to retain the sport’s best player — Mike Trout. That means the city has serious leverage. This is the same Anaheim had the gumption to squeeze Disney — the company with the theme park that gave the city a global image — when the entertainment giant was willing to build a $500-million-plus resort on its own land in return for a tax break. That should mean Anaheim has the nerve to tell its baseball team the party’s over.<doc-sep>The Angels may not call Angel Stadium home after 2019. (Photo by Josh Barber/Angels Baseball LP/Getty Images) The Los Angeles Angels may not be “of Anaheim” for too much longer. The team announced on Tuesday that they’re opting out of their stadium lease with the city of Anaheim. Here’s the statement from the Angels: pic.twitter.com/HzExGXDUo9 — Maria I. Guardado (@mi_guardado) October 16, 2018 The Angels have been in Anaheim since moving into Angel Stadium (which has had several names) in 1966. It’s the fourth-oldest ballpark in the majors behind Fenway Park, Wrigley Field, and Dodger Stadium. Back in February of 2017, team owner Arte Moreno said that the Angels would not opt out of their lease, and would stay in Angel Stadium until the lease ran out in 2029. Obviously something has changed in the 20 months since he said that. The timing of this announcement is interesting, because it occurs less than a month before Anaheim will elect a new mayor. According to Bill Shaikin at the Los Angeles Times, the current mayor (who is not running for reelection) was against the city making a stadium renovation deal with the Angels back in 2013. Negotiations broke down, and the team ended them in 2014. Without a renovation deal, they started looking at other cities in the area to build a new ballpark. However, an Angels spokesperson told Shaikin that the timing is just a coincidence. Angels spokeswoman Marie Garvey said the decision to opt out was not meant to influence voters. She said the lease required the team to opt out no later than Tuesday or wait until 2028 for another chance to do so. “It’s today, or 10 years from now,” Garvey said. “There’s no option in between.” The Angels opting out of their stadium lease sounds scary, but it doesn’t mean they won’t have a place to play in 2019. While the terms of their lease requires them to opt out now, it doesn’t take effect until after the 2019 season. Story continues Additionally, the Angels may not actually leave Anaheim. The team will be sitting down with the new mayor to discuss their options, which could include a renovation agreement. And that might end up being the best or even only option for the Angels, since they would likely have to fund a new ballpark in a new city entirely themselves, or with private (not public) funding. Of course, if the Angels do end up moving, the biggest question is whether they would pay tribute to their past and add their actual city of residence to the end of the team name. The Los Angeles Angels of Irvine. The Los Angeles Angels of Yorba Linda. The Los Angeles Angels of the City of Industry. All of those just roll off the tongue, don’t they? Well, no worse than the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. – – – – – – Liz Roscher is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at lizroscher@yahoo.com or follow her on Twitter at @lizroscher. More from Yahoo Sports: • Ex-teammates paint disturbing portrait of Aaron Hernandez • Kellen Winslow to be tried over 2003 rape allegation • Tyreek Hill seeking charges against beer-pouring fan • Aaron Rodgers rescues Packers once again<doc-sep>
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- The Los Angeles Angels opted out of their Angel Stadium lease with the city of Anaheim on Tuesday, renewing the possibility they could build a stadium somewhere near their longtime Orange County home. The team and the city will negotiate on a new deal to keep the Angels in the fourth-oldest ballpark in the major leagues. The Angels also will renew their explorations of the feasibility of building a stadium elsewhere in Southern California. "As we look to the future, we need the ability to continue to deliver a high-quality fan experience beyond what the original lease allows," Angels president John Carpino said in a statement. "It is important that we look at all our options and how we can best serve our fans now and in the future." The Angels terminated their lease on the last day possible before 2028. The decision means the club has the ability to leave Angel Stadium after the 2019 season. "It's today, or 10 years from now," Angels spokesperson Marie Garvey said, according to the Los Angeles Times. "There's no option in between." Garvey added that the team will sit down with the mayor and city council after elections next month and look at the team's options. City of Anaheim spokesman Mike Lyster said the Angels' decision was understandable. "We look forward to many great years of Angels baseball in Anaheim," Lyster said in a statement. "We don't believe there is a better place for the team than in the heart of Orange County's most exciting city. ... As fun as baseball is in Anaheim, this is a reminder that this is still a business. And we understand that the Angels need to preserve all options available. We welcome talking with the team about the future of baseball in Anaheim." Owner Arte Moreno said before the 2017 season that he expected the Angels to stay at their ballpark for at least another decade, but the club is clearly open to the possibility of building a new stadium nearby if a favorable deal could be reached. Moreno also said last year that any move to a new stadium would require at least three years of preparation. After previous negotiations with Anaheim ended in 2014, the Angels actively explored building a new ballpark in Los Angeles, Irvine, Carson or Tustin, an Orange County suburb just a few miles southeast of Angel Stadium. The Angels ultimately decided to stay home, and they spent millions on improvements to the city-owned stadium. Only Fenway Park, Chicago's Wrigley Field and Dodger Stadium are older than the Anaheim ballpark also known as the Big A, which opened in 1966 on land formerly occupied by Orange County's famed orange groves. Before that, the American League club founded in 1961 played its inaugural season at Los Angeles' now-demolished Wrigley Field and four seasons at Dodger Stadium. The Angels have drawn at least 3 million fans in each of the past 16 seasons at Angel Stadium. They've kept up the remarkable streak even during their current nine-season drought on the field with no playoff victories and just one postseason appearance. Moreno irked many Orange County fans in 2005 when he changed his franchise's name from the Anaheim Angels to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The "of Anaheim" suffix was dropped for the 2016 season, although the team rarely uses any geographical identifiers in its official communications. Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.