Angel Stadium “remains in limbo, with an increasingly uncertain future,” as the Angels kicked off their 60th season at the ballpark on Friday, according to Bill Shaikin of the L.A. TIMES. Three MLB ballparks -- Dodger Stadium, Fenway Park and Wrigley Field -- are older than Angel Stadium, and all of those have been “refreshed and revitalized for new generations of fans,” while Angel Stadium’s future hangs in the balance. The Angels and the city of Anaheim have “twice agreed upon plans to enhance the stadium” in the last two decades, but the city has “walked away from both deals.” But Anaheim Mayor Ashleigh Aitken “still plans to pursue a new deal” despite Angels owner Arte Moreno having “little interest in trying again.” Aitken on Friday sent an “open letter to Moreno inviting him to join in ‘an open and honest conversation about the future of baseball in Anaheim.‘” If the city cannot reach a deal with the Angels, it could end up “selling the stadium.” That option “appears unlikely,” but the possibility could give the city “a bit of leverage at a time Moreno has the upper hand.” A “more likely option” is that the Angels “exercise the final two options on their stadium lease, giving them control over development on the stadium site through 2038, with the city continuing to get no stadium rent from the Angels and no tax revenue from the parking lots it has failed to develop for 60 years” (L.A. TIMES, 4/4).
Angel Stadium’s future uncertain as Anaheim mayor plans to pursue deal
