Despite Talk, No Signal of Angels Making Move

While Angel owner Arte Moreno has suggested the team could move from Anaheim, and while the city of Anaheim has wondered whether Los Angeles would be the destination, the most likely partner in building a stadium there says Moreno has not discussed any such project with him.

“Not once,” said AEG President Tim Leiweke.

As California cities and counties grow increasingly resistant to funding sports facilities, AEG has built Staples Center and the Home Depot Center, largely with private financing. The Angels hired AEG last year to handle their merchandise sales at Angel Stadium and expand them to the company’s Team LA stores, including those at Staples Center, the Home Depot Center and City Walk at Universal Studios.

Leiweke said a baseball stadium probably would not fit at the Home Depot Center and said the Angels have not discussed a stadium with AEG.

“It doesn’t mean, at some point or another, that wouldn’t be a potential conversation,” Leiweke said. “Arte is our partner already. But we have not had a specific conversation. ... I’m hoping they can work through their issues in Anaheim.”

That city has sued the Angels, alleging they have broken their stadium lease by identifying themselves with Los Angeles. The trial is set to start Monday.

Moreno said in November a lengthy appeals process could prompt him to consider moving the team. In court papers filed this week, the city of Anaheim argued that allowing the Angels to retain the Los Angeles name “will, if anything, facilitate a move to Los Angeles.”

Whatever the outcome of the lawsuit, the Angels can opt out of their lease in 2016, and Moreno has openly wondered about the viability of the stadium beyond then.

Angel Stadium opened in 1966. Under the lease, the Angels are responsible for stadium operations. Since Moreno bought the team in 2003, the Angels say they have spent $34 million on upgrades and maintenance, including concrete and railing repairs, improved security cameras and a new warning track and scoreboards.

There is nothing unusual about those expenses, said Greg Smith, executive director of the city’s convention, sports and entertainment department. When the city funded $20 million of Disney’s $118-million renovation of Angel Stadium in 1996, Smith said both parties expected it could be used through 2029, when the Angels’ lease expires.

Moreno has not approached the city about another renovation or a new stadium, Smith said, and such discussions would be years away in any case. But Smith said only technological advances -- a new and unforeseen generation of luxury seating, for instance -- might necessitate a new stadium before 2029.

“That’s what would drive the early retirement of the facility, not physical maintenance,” Smith said.

Last February, one month after the city filed suit, Moreno said he had been contacted by representatives of other locations interested in the Angels. He said in November he had not had any new offers since then and has not followed up on the previous ones.

“I’ve had no further conversations,” he said. “We still have [10] years left on the agreement. That’s one of the reasons I haven’t explored anything.”

Anaheim offered another reason in court papers filed this week, noting that the Angels ranked third among the 30 major league teams in attendance last season.

“Mr. Moreno is not so foolish as to leave town and kill the Golden Goose,” the city argued.

Moreno said in November he is “very happy where I am” but suggested he could move the team elsewhere in the region if the team could not resolve its issues with Anaheim.

“I love being in Southern California,” he said.

“We have a great fan base. We’re creating a better fan base. Why wouldn’t you want to be in Southern California?”

The Home Depot Center could be an intriguing location, enabling the Angels to establish a Los Angeles County presence while remaining close to their Orange County fans. The 150-acre site already includes facilities for soccer, tennis, cycling and track and field.

However, Leiweke said he isn’t sure where he might build a baseball stadium on the site, on the campus of Cal State Dominguez Hills. Even if he could, he said, the potential for large crowds for 81 home games might not sit well with the university and the city of Carson.

“I’m not sure the neighborhood would be happy with us,” he said. “Never say never, but that one would be tough.”

Although AEG is in business with the Angels, it also is in business with the city of Anaheim. The company agreed last month to book concerts and shows into the city-owned arena adjacent to the Anaheim Convention Center.

AEG owns the Kings, Galaxy and a new lacrosse team called the Riptide and holds 30% ownership of the Lakers and Sparks, according to Leiweke. He declined to address whether the company would be interested in a joint venture in which Moreno ran the Angels while AEG acquired a minority stake and built a stadium. Leiweke did say, however, that the company had no desire to buy a baseball team of its own.

“We had an opportunity to buy the Dodgers and never bid,” he said. “We bring nothing to baseball. That’s not our area of expertise. Our hockey fans would tell you we’re just now figuring out how to run a hockey team.”