{"id":325790,"date":"2026-05-21T05:55:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T05:55:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/325790\/"},"modified":"2026-05-21T05:55:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T05:55:13","slug":"angels-could-have-los-angeles-stripped-from-name-under-crafty-california-bill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/325790\/","title":{"rendered":"Angels could have \u2018Los Angeles\u2019 stripped from name under crafty California bill"},"content":{"rendered":"

A California lawmaker is trying to force the perpetually godforsaken Los Angeles Angels<\/a> to own up to an awkward truth \u2014 the baseball club doesn\u2019t even play in LA.<\/p>\n

Assemblymember Avelino Valencia\u2019s bill, AB 2512, would require the Major League Baseball franchise to go back to using the name \u201cAnaheim Angels\u201d in official documents and marketing materials.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But that\u2019s only if the city gives the team special legal treatment to help sell, lease or redevelop Angel Stadium and the surrounding land. The bill sailed through the Assembly this week with unanimous support and it now goes to the state Senate.<\/p>\n

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Assemblymember Avelino Valencia has a crafty plan to rename the Angels after their true hometown. Instagram\/@avelinovalenciaoc<\/p>\n

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Valencia said that Anaheim fans deserve to be treated better than an afterthought.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnaheim is a world-class city, and I have seen it firsthand growing up here,\u201d Valencia told The Post in a statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe pride of place our residents carry is real and it is earned. My community has shown up for the Angels franchise year after year, and they deserve more than being treated as an afterthought.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

He added, \u201cIt is time the name of our local MLB team reflects the city they play in.\u201d<\/p>\n

The conflict is also playing out at a local level, as the Anaheim Mayor Ashleigh Aitken reportedly instructed the city attorney to explore whether the Angels violated their lease by dropping the name Anaheim<\/a> in legal documents.<\/p>\n

Officials for the Angels declined comment on the legislation.<\/p>\n

Valencia\u2019s proposal revives one of Orange County\u2019s longest-running sports grudges after owner Arte Moreno rebranded the franchise from the Anaheim Angels to the \u201cLos Angeles Angels of Anaheim\u201d in 2005 in a bid to capitalize on the larger LA media market.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Angel Stadium continues to be in Anaheim despite a name change that included Los Angeles more than a decade ago. Getty Images<\/p>\n

Anaheim later sued and lost, and by 2016, the team dropped Anaheim from its public branding altogether.<\/p>\n

The situation around the Angels and their stadium has only grown messier in the ensuing years.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Anaheim and the Angels previously struck a deal that would have allowed the franchise to buy the 150-acre stadium property and develop the surrounding land. But the agreement collapsed following a federal corruption investigation involving former Anaheim Mayor Harry Sidhu.<\/p>\n

The state also challenged the arrangement under California\u2019s Surplus Land Act, which generally requires public land to first be made available for affordable housing proposals before it is sold. Anaheim later agreed to a $96 million settlement.<\/p>\n

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Angels owner Arte Moreno. Getty Images<\/p>\n

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A Los Angeles Angels fan wears a decorative halo on his hat before a game. Getty Images<\/p>\n

The Angels are currently in last place in MLB and have not made the playoffs since 2014. The club \u2014 parodied yet also celebrated in the 1994 kids classic film \u201cAngels in the Outfield\u201d \u2014 won its only World Series title in 2002 while still officially repping their hometown of Anaheim.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The stadium has seen better days, as concessions were temporarily shut down last month due to a rodent infestation<\/a>. Shirtless fans recently started a \u201csell the team!\u201d chant targeting Moreno<\/a>. And let\u2019s not forget that<\/a> opossum incident<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Long-sufffering supporters of the team have rallied around Valencia\u2019s bill and suggest it could have a karma-like effect on the Angels\u2019 fortunes.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know we suck, but I grew up with them and I still go watch games,\u201d said Guadalupe Vasconcelos, an Angels fan who grew up in Orange County. \u201cMy dad used to take me when I was little, so that\u2019s all I\u2019ve known.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Mike Trout has been one of the few star players to keep fans coming back. Getty Images<\/p>\n

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Guadalupe Vasconcelos has been going to Angels games since she was a kid.<\/p>\n

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Vasconcelos said her friends are also die-hard Angels fans and all support renaming the team Anaheim.<\/p>\n

Vasconcelos said the vibe of an Angels game is radically different than going to Dodgers games.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like fans are a little nicer to other teams\u2019 [fans],\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Vasconcelos noted that many local fans never accepted the Los Angeles rebrand.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost of my friends are actually Angels fans, too, and they were pretty upset when they were renamed the Los Angeles Angels \u2014 because like I said, it doesn\u2019t make sense,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe we\u2019ll have a little bit more luck if we go back to being the Anaheim Angels.\u201d<\/p>\n

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