Still, another land sale could be on the horizon for the stadium years after the last sale imploded in an FBI corruption investigation despite officials repeatedly denying long term talks of the taxpayer asset.<\/p>\n
Mayor Ashleigh Aitken said she doesn\u2019t believe there is a rush to start plans on the stadium but city government moves slowly.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy vision for the Angel Stadium lot is to have a master plan on that site, as if the lease was not there,\u201d she said in a phone interview last month.<\/p>\n
\u201cWill it include a new ballpark? Maybe, maybe not. How much percentage of that property do we want to have devoted to park space or public uses like youth sports fields and libraries? These are all the things that I want to discuss.\u201d<\/p>\n
The rest of the city council did not return requests for comment.<\/p>\n
Marie Garvey, a spokeswoman for the Angels, directed questions about Angel Stadium to the city.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u200b\u200bWe are focused on the upcoming season so we don\u2019t have any comment,\u201d she said in a Friday email.<\/p>\n
It comes on the heels of former City Manager Jim Vanderpool resigning after facing scrutiny over his close ties to the resort interests that were pushing the sale of the stadium, which would later become enveloped in the city\u2019s corruption scandal.<\/p>\n
[Read: Anaheim\u2019s City Manager Resigns<\/a>]<\/p>\n In 2022, FBI affidavits surfaced alleging former Mayor Harry Sidhu \u2013 Aitken\u2019s predecessor \u2013 tried to ram through the last stadium sale with the expectation of getting $1 million in campaign contributions from the Angels \u2013 something he later denied through his attorney.<\/p>\n The federal probe led officials to stop the sale and Sidhu ultimately ended up going to prison last year for lying to federal investigators about the failed stadium sale.<\/p>\n In a phone interview, Aitken said given what happened with the last deal, she wants to make sure public uses are required on the property before they ask state officials for leniency on the Surplus Land Act \u2014 a state law pertaining to selling public land which they were accused of violating in the last Angel Stadium deal.<\/p>\n She also said any new negotiation should have professional negotiators at the table representing the city.<\/p>\n \u201cI believe that we have an incredible team, but there are benefits to having outside professional negotiators when you are going up against a billionaire that has no regard for the residents of Anaheim. You can\u2019t bring a pillow to a gunfight,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Anaheim Eyes Angel Stadium Again<\/p>\n In January, Aitken called for the discussion of a master plan for the stadium site while Councilwoman Natalie Meeks called for a discussion on what their goals are for one of the city\u2019s biggest assets.<\/p>\n Aitken said that she along with Vanderpool, Councilman Ryan Balius and Councilwoman Norma Campos Kurtz went to Sacramento to discuss the Surplus Land Act.<\/p>\n \u201cNo commitments made from either side, but we just always want to keep our ear to the ground just on whether we have any changes that might impact,\u201d she said at the Jan. 27 meeting.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we have conversations under the surplus land act, we are not allowed to reach out to the Angels, but we are always ready to come up with a plan.\u201d<\/p>\n State officials in 2022 alleged city leaders violated when they tried to sell the stadium, fining the city $96 million, but allowing them to proceed with the sale.\u00a0<\/p>\n That\u2019s when the FBI let their presence in the city be known and the deal was ultimately canned by a previous city council.<\/p>\n This year, officials including Aitken, Vanderpool, Balius and Kurtz with lobbyists from the Fanslau Government Affairs firm<\/a> to discuss the Surplus Land Act before being joined by Assemblyman Avelino Valencia to talk about Angel Stadium, according to their January calendars.<\/p>\n A Master Plan<\/p>\n Aitken said the city should have a master plan for the stadium site.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re going to have to make community decisions about what we want to see on that property and we\u2019re going to have to do it with a ton of community input and make sure that we have a ton of community benefits if anything is going to happen on that property,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Meeks said it is time officials start to collaborate on their vision, priorities, goals and plans for Angel Stadium.<\/p>\n \u201cI would like to ask staff to bring back a framework of how that process could move forward, both with this body in a public fashion, and then the community input piece,\u201d she said at the Jan. 27 meeting.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that will help us move forward with the mayor\u2019s suggestion to come up with some sort of conceptual site plan.\u201d<\/p>\n At the last city council meeting this month, officials said they would be holding meetings in the council districts with residents in part to talk about the future of Angel Stadium.<\/p>\n City Spokesman Mike Lyster said in a January email that they looked forward to council member\u2019s input on the stadium.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s no rush here, and this has been identified by our Council as something to be addressed in our city\u2019s 2024-2034 strategic plan. To be clear, as we have said on multiple occasions, there are no lease or sale discussions at this time,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n Officials have repeatedly denied any long term talks of another stadium sale yet top city officials met with Angels executives and real estate consultants to discuss the surplus land act early last year<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AngelStadium_05_2022_James_06.jpg\")
Angel Stadium. Credit: DEVON JAMES, Voice of OC<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/OC-STADIUMS-ANAHEIM-2025-MCKENNA-11.jpg\")
The Iconic \u201cA\u201d signage at Angel Stadium is lit up in Anaheim, Calif., on Feb. 25, 2025. The ballpark has been home to the Los Angeles Angels since 1966.<\/p>\n