Angels tell Anaheim they're opting out of their lease on Angel Stadium

Phroobar

Well-Known Member
I guess I will concede Dodgers are a much better team than Angels.
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Darkbeer1

Well-Known Member

>>A waterfront ballpark to attract the Angels to Long Beach could cost more than $1.1 billion, and the city has received a study that explores options for paying some or all of that cost, according to city documents released Monday night.

The Angels have not committed to move to Long Beach, and the city has not committed to pay anything toward the construction of a stadium.<<

>>The city provided no record of an Angels response. As they evaluate opportunities in Long Beach, the Angels are preparing to start discussions with the city of Anaheim for a similar project: a stadium and surrounding development. The city of Anaheim is awaiting the results of an Angel Stadium land appraisal before negotiating with the Angels. The city of Long Beach has said it has not conducted an appraisal of the land under discussion with the Angels.<<
 

Jiggsawpuzzle35

Well-Known Member
Original Poster

>>A waterfront ballpark to attract the Angels to Long Beach could cost more than $1.1 billion, and the city has received a study that explores options for paying some or all of that cost, according to city documents released Monday night.

The Angels have not committed to move to Long Beach, and the city has not committed to pay anything toward the construction of a stadium.<<

>>The city provided no record of an Angels response. As they evaluate opportunities in Long Beach, the Angels are preparing to start discussions with the city of Anaheim for a similar project: a stadium and surrounding development. The city of Anaheim is awaiting the results of an Angel Stadium land appraisal before negotiating with the Angels. The city of Long Beach has said it has not conducted an appraisal of the land under discussion with the Angels.<<
Over a billion dollars for a new ballpark is a lot of money. Like most new venues, the price is going to get larger and larger from the original estimated value. From the info you have given us in the past, staying in Anaheim is the best deal for the Angels.
 

Darkbeer1

Well-Known Member
Let alone Money, but Long Beach is looking at 2025 at the earliest that the project could happen. And with the Coastal Commission involved, well, I would added another year or two more.
 

Darkbeer1

Well-Known Member

It is a new day in Anaheim, Orange County’s baseball city.


We are in the early stages of working with the Angels on the team’s future in Anaheim. In doing so, we want to build on the benefits baseball brings for our residents and extend a legacy that has helped make Anaheim the most exciting city in Orange County.


In 53 years of baseball here, we have celebrated an Angels World Series win, Nolan Ryan’s epic no-hitters and Vladimir Guerrero’s Baseball Hall of Fame induction.


Now there is Mike Trout. Our stadium, Angel Stadium of Anaheim, affectionately known as the Big A, is the only home field the game’s greatest player has ever known, and we are looking to keep it that way.


There are no specifics to share at this point. But there is one goal that will guide us when negotiations begin: Any agreement must benefit our residents and neighborhoods first as part of an agreement that also work for the Angels and fans.


Yet even at this early stage, there is no shortage of speculation about the future of baseball in Anaheim, not all of it productive. We welcome a conversation based on facts and with the understanding that when there is information to share, we will.


So let me recap where we are.


As Anaheim’s newly elected mayor, in early January I met with Angels owner Arte Moreno about starting fresh with talks about a new lease in Anaheim.


Shortly after, our City Council approved a 14-month extension for the Angels in Anaheim, allowing time for both sides to work on a new lease.

So far, the city has hired a real estate appraiser to value land around the stadium, while the Angels have enlisted the help of a development consultant to look at opportunities as part of any potential lease.


We expect to sit down in coming weeks and talk about a potential agreement that works for everyone, with a goal of progress by late 2019.


One thing is clear: We are not revisiting the contentious debate of 2013, when an early framework included a placeholder $1 a year lease of land for development to fund stadium improvements that neither the city nor the Angels ever intended as an actual deal point.


Either way, that was six years ago, and an entirely different time and dynamic for our city.


Today, we have a new City Council with a fresh perspective and renewed resolve to address what has been a matter deferred for far too long.


New Model


Whether improving or building new, stadiums are big-ticket items. We start out knowing that the new model for stadiums and arenas is as part of larger economic developments.


Baseball is a critical part of our vision for the Platinum Triangle, the 820-acre area including the stadium, neighboring Honda Center and the ARTIC transit hub.


The Platinum Triangle is seeing $1.5 billion in current and near-term investment to create a downtown built around sports and entertainment with urban-style homes, breweries, restaurants and workplaces.


With more than 150 acres of land around the stadium, we have the opportunity to create the kind of excitement seen around sports venues across the country while maintaining the unrivaled fan convenience of Angel Stadium.


What plays out would be distinctly Anaheim. But inspiration can be found across California, including in Sacramento with the city’s Golden 1 Center basketball arena or in San Diego with baseball’s Petco Park.


We are also watching baseball’s newest stadium, Globe Life Field, being built outside Dallas. Right next to the new stadium is Texas Live!, a $250 million entertainment complex built in partnership with the Texas Rangers, who will call Globe Life Field home in 2020.


Economic Development with a Purpose


In Anaheim, development of restaurants, shops or even a hotel or offices could be the primary way to fund improvements to the Big A or even a new stadium.


For Anaheim, it would be economic development with a purpose.


Our theme parks, sports venues and convention center are a matter of pride. But their real purpose is to serve residents by generating revenue for public safety, parks, libraries and community centers and by helping us keep taxes and fees low.


You can see this playing out in the Platinum Triangle now.


Golden Road Orange County, a craft brewery and restaurant just across from the stadium, is part of the area’s transformation.


Just a few years ago, the site housed a 1970s-era warehouse that generated little in the way of property tax revenue for the city.


With Golden Road, we now see additional property tax from the site plus sales tax revenue we never had before.


It is part of a larger trend. Since 2009, redevelopment in the Platinum Triangle has doubled our sales tax revenue in the area to about $8 million.


That money goes directly to public safety and community services for residents.

Long Beach



We are not alone in recognizing the value a stadium brings. Long Beach has approached the Angels with a proposal for a stadium in its downtown waterfront.


While we admire Long Beach’s ambition, we do not envy any city starting from scratch.


As a major league city for more than five decades, we are confident in the path, process and opportunity ahead of us here in Anaheim.


There is no better stadium site in Southern California. Angel Stadium enjoys access from three freeways, integrated train and bus service and worldwide exposure as part of a city that’s also home to Disneyland, Honda Center and the Anaheim Convention Center.


For the past 16 seasons here, the Angels have drawn more than 3 million fans to home games, an attendance milestone second only to that of the New York Yankees. That is no accident, and it happened right here in Anaheim.


Done right, a new agreement with the Angels will secure the next generation of baseball in Orange County while creating lasting economic benefit for Anaheim’s neighborhoods for years to come.


Harry Sidhu is mayor of Anaheim.
 

Darkbeer1

Well-Known Member

>>Last week, OCCORD, UNITE-HERE LOCAL 11 and SEIU organized a “community forum and educational event” at Katella High School. The topic: Angel Stadium lease negotiations. About 150 people attended – primarily OCCORD staffers, UNITE-HERE Local 11 and SEIU members and some allied local elected officials; a full complement of Anaheim City Council gadflies and a smattering of unaffiliated residents.


OCCORD livecast the rally. You can watch it here and here.


In reality, it was a campaign rally where attendees were fed a diet of misinformation and falsehoods – as simple fact checking makes clear, starting with the invitation flyer organizers dropped on District 5 door steps.<<

>>This deliberate decision to cherry pick facts in order to mislead the public undermines this special interest coalition’s credibility to speak honestly on the stadium lease negotiations. It’s dishonest. It’s chicanery.


So why lie?


Because their purpose is not to inform – it is to incite. As OCCORD staffer Minerva Gomez put it at the beginning of the rally, their purpose is to “get excited, get enraged.”


OCCORD, UNITE-HERE Local 11, SIEU and their political allies don’t care about getting a “fair deal.” Theirs is a special interest play to ensure they get a slice of the pie if the city and the Angels are able to hammer out an agreement – while simultaneously creating issues for their endorsed council candidates to run on in 2020.<<
 

Darkbeer1

Well-Known Member



>>When Anaheim city leaders were trying to woo Angels Baseball back to the bargaining table after stadium lease talks melted down in 2014, they did it with a video.


The nostalgia-tinged video, which was never publicly released, portrayed an active, vibrant neighborhood of shops, restaurants, homes and offices that would complement a stadium packed with loyal Angels fans.


And although the video is several years old, that vision for the city’s Platinum Triangle – with Angel Stadium at its heart – remains the same today, city spokesman Mike Lyster said.


“What that video shows is the incredible opportunity we have around the stadium,” Lyster said. “A lot of that is still consistent with our vision for the Platinum Triangle: a thriving urban district of homes, shops and offices.”


The city anticipates the 173-acre stadium district, the bulk of which is the stadium and its parking lots, would provide the vast majority of the commercial space – shops, restaurants and other businesses – in the Platinum Triangle, as well as nearly 6,000 more homes.


Lyster said the video was produced by a consultant who also created the renderings of how the stadium neighborhood could someday look that were released at the time; he didn’t have information on what it cost.<<
 

Darkbeer1

Well-Known Member
The Angels are on tonight's Anaheim City Council Agenda, let me share a few recent news articles.


>>
[This op-ed originally appeared in the OC Register on August 22, 2019]

We have a once-in-a-generation chance to build on the legacy of baseball in Anaheim.

As we set out on talks with the Angels on a new stadium lease, we can forge a better deal for our residents while also improving what is great about having baseball in Anaheim.

Yet, for some, it’s a chance for fighting, rehashing and putting narrow interests first. That does a disservice to us all.

As mayor I take a bigger view. In the next few weeks, we will sit down with the Angels with a goal of a mutually beneficial agreement that serves our residents and brings benefits for years to come.

Here are my guiding principles:

Market Value for Land

With 155 acres of land around Angel Stadium of Anaheim, we have an incredible opportunity. The potential sale of all or part of this city land would bring revenue we can use to address community priorities while also providing funding for an improved or new stadium.

As part of the negotiating team, I will insist that any land sales or leases be at market prices, reflecting ongoing baseball use, development we’re likely to see and any requirements we may ask for with the land. You’ll hear some argue for unrealistic prices based on what we might see if we sold all of the land for housing.

Of course, housing is likely to be part of what we see around the stadium, including affordable homes that allow people to live and work in Anaheim.

But to get the most for our community we can’t be so shortsighted. Homes must be part of a larger mix that includes restaurants, shops, offices and hotels, which bring recurring revenue for our city.

That is our vision for the Platinum Triangle, the area around the stadium, and it holds the greatest potential for our residents.


Mayor Harry Sidhu

Market Rent for Stadium Use

If we see a new lease for a city-owned stadium, it should include annual rent payments, city revenue-sharing or a combination of both. You’ll hear a lot about rent at Angel Stadium. Unfortunately, much of it is misleading.

Those who don’t want the Angels to stay, or only want a deal on their terms, will tell you the team doesn’t pay rent at the stadium. From 1996 to 1998, the team paid $87 million to fix up Angel Stadium, which then was 30 years old.

That was $87 million our residents did not have to pay to fix up our stadium.

Under the team’s current lease, $80 million of that investment counted as prepaid rent, working out to $2.5 million a year for the 33-year life of the lease. But that’s history now.

Any time we consider a new lease, it is a chance to a take fresh look at rent and revenue, much as we did in 2018 with a new agreement for Honda Center.

Protect Anaheim’s General Fund

Anaheim’s general fund touches residents every day by supporting police, fire, libraries, parks, community centers and services. Any new deal must not detract from what we now spend on our neighborhoods. In fact, it should add to it and help us keep taxes low. By looking at market-driven development to fix or build a stadium, we will protect our general fund from costs seen by other sports cities.

We will look to newly created tax revenue to help us fund neighborhood improvements to parks, community centers, libraries and programs for kids and residents alike.

Ongoing Revenue for Future Generations

The land around Angel Stadium is one of our greatest assets. Whether we own land or just have a say in how it’s used, we must ensure we are maximizing value for our residents.

Stadium land must produce ongoing revenue for public safety, parks and community services. That must come from a healthy development mix that generates hotel, sales and property tax revenue that we can use to provide the services our residents expect and deserve.

To be sure, these guiding principles are not exclusive.

There is room for more community benefit, including parks, shops and businesses serving residents and a focus on filling high-wage construction jobs with Anaheim residents and veterans.

For now, we have our work ahead of us. We stand ready to build on a beloved baseball tradition in Anaheim while ensuring lasting benefits for our residents for years to come.

Harry Sidhu is the Mayor of Anaheim.<<





 

Jiggsawpuzzle35

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Thanks for those news stories. How much money are the Union Thugs paying Councilman Moreno to block anything Disney and Angels related? I’m glad I don’t live in a city that has to deal with that schmuck.
 

Darkbeer1

Well-Known Member
Thanks for those news stories. How much money are the Union Thugs paying Councilman Moreno to block anything Disney and Angels related? I’m glad I don’t live in a city that has to deal with that schmuck.

A LOT, UNITE HERE and other unions were the largest contributor to Anaheim politics for the 2018 election, even more than Disney.
 

Jiggsawpuzzle35

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
A LOT, UNITE HERE and other unions were the largest contributor to Anaheim politics for the 2018 election, even more than Disney.
Maybe the citizens of Anaheim should know what these unions are contributing to him. Does Mr. Moreno donate any of his money or does the Union donate any of its money to the citizens of Anaheim? I’m sure the answer is no. I see Disney and the Angels and Ducks doing a lot of charitable stuff in Anaheim.
 

Darkbeer1

Well-Known Member
Maybe the citizens of Anaheim should know what these unions are contributing to him. Does Mr. Moreno donate any of his money or does the Union donate any of its money to the citizens of Anaheim? I’m sure the answer is no. I see Disney and the Angels and Ducks doing a lot of charitable stuff in Anaheim.

I don't want to get things off track, but you make some good points. But not all Unions act like that. The Building Trade Unions do donate time and money to Anaheim's chartable activities. They did a lot when the city opened an emergency shelter in just 10 days. They also have worked with groups to help fix up homes for those in need, such as Seniors and those disadvantaged. I have also seen checks being presented to groups. Plus they have a local hire policy, to make sure Anaheim residents get priority for local projects. Also Vets. Plus helping trade school programs.

The issue is specifically UNITE HERE and a few groups that work with them. Never seen any chartable things from them in time and/or money.

Anaheim is VERY lucky to have companies that donate large amounts of time and money to help make the city better for all the residents. And I can add Northgate Markets, Kaiser and others who step up to the plate to help so many charities, schools, parks and civic activities.

Headed to the council meeting, will report what happened....
 

Jiggsawpuzzle35

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I don't want to get things off track, but you make some good points. But not all Unions act like that. The Building Trade Unions do donate time and money to Anaheim's chartable activities. They did a lot when the city opened an emergency shelter in just 10 days. They also have worked with groups to help fix up homes for those in need, such as Seniors and those disadvantaged. I have also seen checks being presented to groups. Plus they have a local hire policy, to make sure Anaheim residents get priority for local projects. Also Vets. Plus helping trade school programs.

The issue is specifically UNITE HERE and a few groups that work with them. Never seen any chartable things from them in time and/or money.

Anaheim is VERY lucky to have companies that donate large amounts of time and money to help make the city better for all the residents. And I can add Northgate Markets, Kaiser and others who step up to the plate to help so many charities, schools, parks and civic activities.

Headed to the council meeting, will report what happened....
Keep up the good work.
 

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