{"id":450393,"date":"2026-09-01T22:58:08","date_gmt":"2026-09-01T22:58:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/450393\/"},"modified":"2026-09-01T22:58:08","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T22:58:08","slug":"city-community-leaders-optimistic-at-news-of-angels-sale-orange-county-register","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/450393\/","title":{"rendered":"City, community leaders optimistic at news of Angels sale \u2013 Orange County Register"},"content":{"rendered":"

Anaheim officials learned of the pending Angels ownership swap Tuesday morning \u201cjust as fans\u201d were,<\/a> saying they are optimistic for a \u201cnew chapter,\u201d though it\u2019s unclear how a new team owner could change future negotiations for the lease or sale of the city-owned stadium.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve certainly welcome the potential of what new ownership could bring, but we do want to be respectful and let the process play out,\u201d said Anaheim City spokesperson Mike Lyster, reached just hours after the news broke that billionaire sports mogul Stan Kroenke announced Tuesday, Sept. 1 that his company has agreed to buy the Los Angeles Angels from long-time owner Arte Moreno.<\/p>\n

The announcement from Kroenke Sports & Entertainment says it has \u201centered into a definitive agreement to acquire a controlling interest in the Los Angeles Angels Baseball Club from the Moreno family,\u201d with the transaction being expected to close in first quarter 2027. KSE also owns the Denver Nuggets basketball team, the Colorado Avalanche hockey team, and the Arsenal, a soccer team in England\u2019s Premier League.<\/p>\n

\u201cFans and residents welcome the start of a new chapter for baseball in Anaheim. I am encouraged by Stan Kroenke\u2019s track record with the Rams and his commitment to investing in and uplifting neighborhoods,\u201d Anaheim Mayor Ashleigh Aitken said.<\/p>\n

The sale could be something of a fresh start in negotiations<\/a> over the stadium\u2019s future \u2013 a cloud has hung over things since news broke about FBI prosecutors investigating the mayor and a former Chamber of Commerce executive director, including leaks of confidential information to influence the negotiations.<\/p>\n

In response, the City Council quickly canceled a $320 million deal<\/a> to sell the stadium and its surrounding acres of parking to Moreno, which would have allowed the development of a residential and entertainment district with either a new or renovated stadium at its center.<\/p>\n

Mayor Harry Sidhu has since served a prison sentence after pleading guilty in 2023<\/a> to four felonies: obstruction of justice, wire fraud and two counts of making false statements to a federal agency.<\/p>\n

There have been no meaningful negotiations since the sale was canceled.<\/p>\n

\u201cI look forward to working with the team\u2019s incoming ownership to advance our city\u2019s priorities around housing, open space and youth sports at the right time,\u201d Aitken said.<\/p>\n

The development proposed by Moreno would have connected to the $4 billion OCVibe development<\/a> under construction around the Honda Center \u2013 the city sold the parking lots around the city-owned arena to an entity of Ducks owner Henry Samueli in 2018<\/a> \u2013 supercharging even further the attraction of the city\u2019s Platinum Triangle.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlongside developments like OCVIBE, the Angel Stadium property has the potential to help advance Anaheim\u2019s vision of becoming the new downtown of Orange County,\u201d Anaheim Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Dara Maleki said.<\/p>\n

The organization has been undergoing a transformation<\/a> in its mission to regain community trust after its previous leader was tied to the federal corruption probe.<\/p>\n

\u201cI welcome today\u2019s news and the prospect of more to come in District 5, home of our city\u2019s iconic sports venues and the exciting transformation we see all around us,\u201d Anaheim Councilmember Kristen Maahs said. \u201cFrom the Rams to Britain\u2019s legendary Arsenal, the sports experience behind this proposal reflects the potential to build on more than six decades of Angels baseball here in Anaheim.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBeyond that, I want to respect the process ahead for any potential sale while welcoming the chance to work with any new ownership,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The change in Angels\u2019 ownership comes at a time of several moving parts.<\/p>\n

City officials are expecting at \u201cyear\u2019s end\u201d the results of a stadium assessment on the 60-year-old Angel Stadium, which could govern next steps, including whether the fourth-oldest MLB ballpark in the country should be built anew or potentially need hundreds of millions in repairs.<\/p>\n

And there\u2019s a new law that could force a ball club name change depending on future development proposals.<\/p>\n

Gov. Gavin Newsom recently signed into law Assembly Bill 2512<\/a>, known as the \u201cHome Run for Anaheim Act,\u201d which Assemblymember Avelino Valencia proposed.<\/p>\n

If an exemption to the state\u2019s Surplus Land Act is sought for future development \u2013 the law prioritizes affordable housing \u2013 Valencia\u2019s bill requires the ball club to change its name to Anaheim Angels \u2013 Moreno\u2019s removal of the city from the team\u2019s name has been a sore spot for years.<\/p>\n

If the team and the city come to a naming agreement of their own, Avelino\u2019s bill would not come into play.<\/p>\n

City officials have said they are talking with state partners on how to best navigate the Surplus Land Act in the future \u2013 the state declared the previous development plan a violation of the act.<\/p>\n

\u201cNames matter. Identity matters. Winning matters,\u201d Valencia said in a press release following the bill\u2019s passing. \u201cAnaheim has been home to this franchise for 60 years. Residents built the stadium, packed the stands, and gave the world the Rally Monkey and a World Series title in 2002. That history belongs to our community, and the team\u2019s name should too.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Angels have played in Anaheim since 1966 and the franchise won its only World Series title in 2002 as the \u201cAnaheim Angels,\u201d before dropping the hometown moniker in 2016.<\/p>\n

The team currently has a lease on the stadium running until 2032 with the option to extend their stay until 2038.<\/p>\n

\u201cA great day for Angels fans and Anaheim,\u201d state Sen. Tom Umberg said in a statement. \u201cThis agreement ushers in an exciting new era for the team, the city and the generations of fans who call Anaheim home. Looking forward to what\u2019s ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is a developing story please check back for updates.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Anaheim officials learned of the pending Angels ownership swap Tuesday morning \u201cjust as fans\u201d were, saying they are…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":450394,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[163,15261,165,164,19753,7,1071,100,611,136],"class_list":["post-450393","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-anaheim","tag-anaheim","tag-anaheim-city-hall","tag-anaheim-headlines","tag-anaheim-news","tag-angel-stadium","tag-california","tag-local-government","tag-news","tag-orange-county","tag-top-stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/450393","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=450393"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/450393\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/450394"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=450393"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=450393"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=450393"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}